


Serpentine

by LorelaiMcQueen



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:27:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 43,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26543671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LorelaiMcQueen/pseuds/LorelaiMcQueen
Summary: Betty Cooper meets Jughead Jones when they're 2 years old and something inside of them shifted, clicking into place. This is their story about growing up together, sharing the darkness they both feel inside of them, and loving each other through it all. Betty/Jughead, Cheryl/Toni, Archie/Veronica.
Relationships: Alice Cooper/FP Jones II, Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz
Comments: 13
Kudos: 75





	1. When We Were Young (We Were Small But We Didn't Know It)

**A/N:** So this is my first ever Riverdale fic. I got sucked in due to Bughead and, despite the absolute atrocity they have decided to commit to destroy such a formidable couple, I'm still their biggest shipper. I had this idea for this fic since before season 4 started and I had to write it because I think Riverdale doesn't touch on Betty and Jughead's shared darkness enough. They don't even show us enough Serpent royalty Bughead, which is just content we deserve. So, I guess this is a fix-it fic. Hope you enjoy!

BTW, if you're not a fan of Bughead, this is not the fic for you. And there's a lot of darkness for them, too, because I think those two really do have some killer instincts and it's the kind of crazy that bonds them just as much as their sleuthing.

Title of the chapter comes from the song "When We Were Young" by Lucy Schwartz.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Riverdale. If I did, I'd do it justice.

*******************************************************************************

_**Chapter 1: When We Were Young (We Were Small but We Didn't Know It)** _

**June 2004**  
**Riverdale, NY**

The first time Jughead Jones met Betty Cooper was when he was two years old.

It all happened because of an excitable red-headed boy named Archie Andrews. Jughead didn't actually remember meeting Archie, though he'd understood before understanding much else that Archie was one of the most important people in his young life, right up there with his mom and dad.

Jughead's dad had been working for Archie's dad since before either boys had been even an idea in their parents' future. Fred Andrews' dad died when he was still a senior in high school, and he'd spent his last few months of school an orphan balancing homework and keeping a construction company that had been in his family for two generations alive. FP, having been Fred's best friend since they were partnered up in middle school chemistry class and a fellow high school graduate not going to college, had gone to work for Fred immediately after they'd all gotten their placeholder diplomas.

It was a few years down the line before Fred married Mary and FP married Gladys. The two of them couldn't have been more different.

Fred and Mary had been sweethearts on and off since junior high. They'd kept the long-distance thing going for about a year after she'd left for college, but Northwestern was too far away, the distance proving to be too much for them. She came back for holidays and they'd always find themselves back in each other's arms but then she'd be gone again far too soon. She didn't come back for summer breaks, either, always busy with internships, focused on a promising law career in her near future. She came back for good right after her law school graduation. The person who had raised her, her grandfather, was critically ill and she came back to take care of him in his last few months of life. Fred was by her side the entire time, knowing just how painful it is to lose someone you loved like that. They'd started up their relationship as though she'd never left. He'd proposed four months in and she'd said yes on the condition that they married as soon as possible – she didn't want her Grandpa to miss her wedding and she wanted him to walk her down the aisle. By the time Mary buried her grandfather seven months later, the two were already husband and wife, the third generation Andrews to build a home in the house on Elm.

FP and Gladys were a different story. Gladys wasn't originally from Riverdale. She was, however, a legacy Serpent, just like FP. Her brother Glenn was a Southside Serpent, having moved from Toledo when he was nineteen to be with a girl from the Southside. He was already a Toledo Serpent and it didn't take much to be a Southside Serpent. Gladys came to visit Glenn and his fiancée Nora when they got married, met FP and the rest was history. She'd been sixteen years old then, eight years younger than FP, who was going full steam ahead as Serpent Prince and as an employee at Andrews' Construction. She had her own jacket, her own tattoo and her own bike, and she fit into his life the way that no one else had since high school. They married a year into meeting each other, and she moved from Toledo to be with him, choosing to drop out of high school in favor of building a life with him. She didn't care to be a Southside Serpent, though. She didn't connect with them the way she had with the Toledo Serpents, and preferred to stay out of the whole thing. Besides, she was the wife of the Serpent Prince, and that was more than enough.

Despite how different their lives – and their wives – were, Fred and FP remained best friends through it all. They were even each other's best men at their weddings. It was kismet, Fred would joke, when Mary and Gladys got pregnant around the same time.

Gladys worked two jobs – one as a waitress at Pop's and the other as a mechanic at a Serpent-run garage – and FP kept his job at the construction company, even when Gladys got pregnant for the first time and his dad left without a trace after leaving to get a pack of cigarettes. He kept the job even as he ascended into the role of Serpent King.

FP took Jughead with him to the construction company on and off when Gladys went back to work after a shortened maternity leave. She was at work more than she was at home, taking up longer shifts at Pop's to pay for diapers and milk. FP couldn't bring Jughead out to the actual construction sites, but he'd always leave him in Fred's company in his office, where little Archie would be in his crib.

Jughead obviously couldn't remember their meeting when he was two months old and Archie was barely five weeks old, but according to Fred, they were playing with each other and babbling a mile a minute in secret baby language the moment they were able to. Mary Andrews had kept a picture above the mantel of the two of them snuggling together in Archie's crib for as long as Jughead could remember. Archie was always embarrassed by it but Jughead was secretly pleased. He didn't think his parents had a lot of baby pictures of him. It was nice that someone did.

It wasn't until a few years later, when Jughead and Archie were just months shy of turning three years old, playing hide and seek in the Andrews' backyard, being watched over by Fred who was building the boys their own treehouse in the biggest, most stable tree there that the boys finally met Betty Cooper. Jughead wasn't old enough yet to understand that Fred had called it 'Archie and Jughead's treehouse' out of empathy for the little boy who lived in a cramped trailer and would never get a treehouse of his own. FP, on the other hand, was more than a little touched.

The first day Betty Cooper came into his life was a day that Jughead Jones would never forget.

Betty moved into the house next door to Archie's with her parents and her older sister Polly in the summer of 2004.

Jughead and Archie barely saw Hal Cooper that first day. He was too busy moving boxes in and out of the new Cooper home. Fred and Mary greeted Betty's mother Alice with hugs, homemade cookies and an invitation to dinner the first chance she and Hal were free. They had been to school together and Mary had been Alice and Hal's lawyer in securing their new home next to the Andrews' house. Polly, older than Betty by a mere eleven months, stuck by her mother's side, disinterested in roughhousing.

Betty, on the other hand, had no such qualms. The moment she laid eyes on the two boys rolling around on the ground, giggling as they play wrestled, she'd lit up, running past the adults catching up to introduce herself. Ignoring her mother's dismayed cries, she trekked through the slightly muddy backyard, skidding to a stop before the two wrestling boys. They immediately ceased their play fighting, looking up upside down at her.

Jughead would remember what she looked like that day for the rest of his life. Pink sneakers streaked with mud, pink sundress with a white bowtie around the middle, golden blonde hair glinting in the sun…Her eyes were the most vivid shade of green he'd ever seen in his few short years of life. She gave them the sweetest smile, toothy and bright.

"Hi! I'm Betty!" she said, not shy in the least, voice high and sweet.

Jughead scrambled to his feet, Archie following at a slower pace. "I'm Jughead," he replied, her smile making him grin right back at her. "And that's Archie."

His red-headed friend wiped at his nose, leaving a streak of dirt behind, and offered her a goofy smile, "Hi."

Betty giggled. "Jughead's a funny name. I like it," she proclaimed, and Jughead grinned so wide his cheeks hurt, looking curiously at the sparkle of her emerald eyes. For the next few months, his fruit of choice would be green apples.

Archie, despite his aversion to playing with the little girls at their daycare, offered Betty one of his spare wooden swords and the three of them ran around the Andrews' backyard, playing knights and dragons. Betty refused to be the princess trapped in a tower, so Jughead had agreed to it. Archie gave him an odd look but Betty's bright smile as she 'saved' him from the imaginary monsters made it all worth it.

Betty's mom came to the backyard with Archie's parents, talking about growing a vegetable garden in her new backyard. She shook her head, a disapproving frown on her face as she caught sight of her daughter ruining her dress as she ran around playing knights and dragons, swinging her wooden sword around. Her icy blue eyes slid over to the two boys Betty had instantly befriended. She was smiling when she saw Archie, Mary's red hair and Fred's smile making her feel nostalgic despite the two of them standing just next to her. When she saw Jughead, though, she'd frozen in her spot for a full minute, eyes almost bugging out of her head as she took in the jet-black hair, pouty lips and olive skin. She knew instantly whose kid he was, and she'd be damned if her child grew any sort of connection to the Southside – especially through him.

Jughead grew incredibly sad when Alice suddenly surged forward, her hand wrapping around Betty's thin arm, a furious look on her face as she glared at Jughead.

"Betty! Let's go!" Alice said, the snarling tone of her voice scaring him silly. It was the first thing he had ever heard her say and it seemed to set the tone of their interactions from then on – he was always clinging to Betty and she was always trying her hardest to snatch Betty away from him.

"Mommy! No!" Betty protested, tears welling in her big green eyes. Jughead rushed forward, dropping his own sword to wrap thin arms around Betty's neck to comfort her, braving the dragon fire he was sure he saw Betty's mom exhale when she spoke. Archie looked on, concerned and confused by this sudden turn of events, but looking just a little grossed out at Jughead hugging a _girl_.

Alice tugged on Betty's arm, pulling her out of Jughead's embrace, turning a fiery gaze towards Archie's parents' direction. " _His_ kid?" she whispered harshly, and Jughead wouldn't really think about what it meant until years later. "Really?"

Archie's mom, sweet, always smiling Mary, reached out and gently separated Alice and Betty. "Why don't you kids play out here for a little bit?" she suggested, voice soft but firm. "Dinner will be in a little while. I'll call you three to come inside when it's time, okay?"

"Can Betty stay?" Jughead pleaded.

"Absolutely not," Alice snapped at the same time Mary said, "I'll make sure of it."

They were sent out to play but all three of them huddled together, ears pressed to the Andrews' back door as they listened to Alice Cooper yelling at Fred and Mary Andrews in their kitchen, and getting yelled at back.

"You know how I feel about all that," Alice said. "How could you let _that boy_ be around her?"

"Alice, _that boy_ is just an innocent kid," Fred said.

"For now," Alice snapped angrily. "We all know where he's headed."

"Everyone said the same thing about you once," Mary pointed out, voice tense. "Look at you now, Northside suburban mom."

There was a long, awkward silence. "Betty can't know," Alice said quietly.

"No one's telling her anything," Fred reassured her, voice just as quiet. Jughead had to strain to hear them. "But you leave those kids be. Whatever happened between you and FP…Leave them out of it. Neither of them deserves it."

Neither Jughead nor Betty understood any of it, but it did spark their interest in snooping to learn more. Archie had stopped paying attention halfway through. He'd found a caterpillar nearby and was crouched next to it, gently poking at it with a single finger. Betty and Jughead, however, were obsessed with finding out the truth.

They never did figure out the mystery of the Weird Angry Conversation and, eventually, they forgot about it.

They started investigating other things, though, inspired by their love of the Baxter Brothers and Tracy True. The older they grew, the more intense their love of investigating became.

They investigated Fred's missing keys, Mary's missing glasses, Archie's missing animal crackers…Anything they could get their hands on. Eventually, they moved on to investigate things outside the Andrews' house, their antics getting them fond smiles and headshakes from the adults around them. The only one who remained stoic, not charmed in the least, was Alice.

Betty became an official member of their little group, a duo turning into an iconic trio.

*****************************************************************************

**Oct 2004**  
**Riverdale, NY**

Betty and Jughead were thrilled to learn that their birthdays were only thirteen days apart.

Jughead's birthday was first, just a few days into the month of October, and Betty wanted so badly to go to his birthday party (she had been summoned to the end-of-summer bash for the Blossom twins just a few months ago and had assumed, with all the naivety of a soon-to-be three year old, that all parties were that grand), but Alice almost had a conniption at the thought of one of her daughters stepping foot into Sunnyside and Jughead's parents hadn't thrown him a party, anyway. Betty had been saddened by that, and insisted that her party, held earlier than her actual birthday just a week after Jughead's birthday, on a weekend, become a joint celebration. Jughead was too young to understand why but his dad had grown a funny shade of white and Betty's mom had turned purple, looking angrier than he'd ever seen her.

"It's okay, Betty," he assured his new best friend, knowing that her party was never going to be their party, even if she didn't want to admit it. "I don't want a party. I'll just go to yours, okay?"

Betty had been sad for him, but Jughead didn't mind. Her birthday party had been amazing – he had shown up with a present (a handmade birthday card and a macaroni frame with a picture of all three of them standing at the balcony of the treehouse the day it was finally completed. Jughead wouldn't know this but these were the first two things Betty ever placed in her 'Jughead box' a few years down the road) and he had eaten cake and the two of them had played tag with Archie and the other kids from the daycare Betty's mom had insisted on inviting, and it had been _fun_.

He was just settling into bed that night, belly full of cake and tiny party food, body warm with happiness, when he overheard his mom, angry and jealous.

"Who the hell does that bitch think she is?" his mom was saying, louder than she needed to in a trailer so small.

"Gladys," his dad chided, voice as tired as he'd looked when he'd picked up Jughead from the Cooper house an hour ago.

"What, she thinks her precious baby girl is better than us?"

"Of course she doesn't!"

"Why, because that little blonde thing gets to have a party and Jug didn't?" Gladys went on, ignoring her husband. "Because she can afford to invite every Northside brat to a birthday party no one's even going to _remember_ next year? Please."

"No one thinks that," FP sighed. "Betty's three years old, okay? She likes Jug. Jug likes her. Let's just…let them be kids."

"You're taking Alice's side?"

"I'm taking Jughead and Betty's side," FP countered heavily.

The argument that followed kept Jughead awake long after his bedtime, tired eyes refusing to close and mind running a mile a minute. The cake forgotten, his stomach felt full of lead instead of food, Jughead shut his eyes tightly as he heard the door to the one bedroom there was in the trailer creak open. He flinched as the door slammed shut a second later. His mother, muttering angrily to herself, got in the bed that Jughead shared with his parents. It was a cramped room and an even more cramped bed, but it felt like there were miles between them as Gladys turned to her other side, too angry to check on her son, tiny body tensed as he laid there, awake and scared.

Jughead waited as long as he could, but his dad didn't turn up in the bedroom that night. He fell into a restless sleep, swollen eyes sliding close and tired mind conjuring up angry voices yelling in the dark. He was woken up too early the next morning by the sound of his parents arguing again in the living room, his nightmare brought to life.

_Birthday parties_ , he thought to himself, _are not worth the fights_. He vowed _never_ to have a party for himself, no matter how much fun he'd had at Betty's party (and how much fun he would have at Archie's party just a few weeks later).

**************************************************************************

Archie complained about having Betty around in the beginning – they'd been around a fair share of girls thanks to daycare and neither of them cared for Cheryl Blossom's shrill craziness or Josie McCoy's girly tea parties.

But Jughead wanted Betty around.

Betty was nice and sweet. She was a Harry Potter fan and she loved the Baxter Brothers and Tracy True just like he did (his dad would always get him a Baxter Brothers book on each birthday and read them to him, and Betty's mom had gotten her all the Tracy True books published so far. Their daycare teacher Ms. Finley or Archie's mom, their usual babysitter, would read to them all the time, as they cuddled together under warm blankets and drank hot cocoa; it was his favorite thing to do, bested only by eating. Archie rarely paid attention when it was story time; two minutes in and he was snoring away. Jughead always felt like a burden when Mary would continue reading to just him, but he felt better now that she was reading to both him and Betty, and it was much more fun, too). She liked to wrestle just as much as Archie did. She would race him on the bike (as fast as they could go with training wheels on them). _She_ didn't like to play any silly girly games.

When Fred had finally finished the treehouse, he also built them a sign to put up in front of it. It said, 'Musketeers' Club (ONLY for Archie, Betty and Jughead)'. Betty had come up with the name, Archie had wanted to specify who was allowed inside and Jughead had insisted Betty's name came before his because Archie still had mean moments sometimes where he was adamant their clubhouse be boys-only.

FP, despite the promises he'd made himself when he was younger, fell into the bottle the way Forsythe I had. Unlike his dad, he never once laid a hand on his wife or his son (he would rather die a gruesome death than hurt them the way his dad hurt him). He did, however, become just as big of an alcoholic as his father, the burden of being Serpent King pushing him further and further into the bottle.

Betty and Archie were always there for Jughead, a distraction from the sadness of his home life. Archie was always trying to get him to play at the park or learn how to swing a bat, but they bonded most over video games and his mom's cooking. Betty was more adventurous than both boys, cajoling them into locking themselves in a closet just so she could learn to lock pick their way out the way Tracy True did. They dug up treasure in Archie's backyard (because Mama Cooper would have thrown all three in the secret dungeon they were _convinced_ she had if they had dug up _her_ backyard). They trailed the mailman halfway around town because he was surely a Russian spy.

Betty was the least girly girl Jughead had ever come across. Her mom did her best to try and turn her into a little princess but beyond Betty's love of pastel-colored sweaters and dresses, she detested all the stereotypical girly stuff that Polly loved. Her dad was a big fan of cars – he'd worked as a part-time mechanic all the way through to college and he still restored cars and sold them once he was done as a side job, purely because it was fun to do. Polly was too uninterested, too invested in frilly dresses and making her hair shine, but Betty spent as much time as she could working right alongside her dad (by the time they would start first grade, she would know the difference between a carburetor and a radiator. The only difference Jughead would be able tell when it came to cars was their color).

Jughead followed along with her, always happy to be a part of her orbit. Archie moved too fast sometimes, jumping from one exciting hobby to another in the span of hours. It was hard to keep track of, so he mostly just listened. Betty was a more stable constant, and she always waited for him to catch up, her hand gripped in his as she gently guided him through. Sometimes, despite the fact that the trio were a tight knit, despite the fact that he'd met Archie first, it felt like Jughead was more attached to Betty than to Archie. There was a part of himself – the dark, sad part that he was too embarrassed and scared to show the rest of the world – that he only felt comfortable sharing with her.

He didn't understand why, of course, until much later.

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I've planned out this fic for beyond season 4. There is no time-jump here as I've also written in their college years. Hope you're even a fraction as excited as I am for all the Bughead goodness.


	2. I See the Curve of the Earth in Your Willow Eyes (You Got Me Good)

**A/N:** Second chapter! Please leave a review to let me know if you liked it. Thank you so much!

Title of the chapter comes from the song "You Got Me" by Ingrid Michaelson.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything Riverdale-related.

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_**Chapter 2: I See the Curve of the Earth in Your Willow Eyes (You Got Me Good)** _

**November 2006**   
**Riverdale, NY**

When Betty was four years old, Polly decided that she wanted to enter into Little Miss Riverdale. Cheryl Blossom was entering into the beauty pageant, founded and hosted by the Blossoms since its inception fifty years ago, and Polly wanted nothing more than to do the same. Alice ate it up, wanting to be the mother of the most beautiful girl in town. Before Betty knew it, their house was filled with frilly dresses and her mom and sister spent all their time finding Polly's 'secret talent' that she could show off at the pageant.

It was annoying and Betty hated being dragged around with them. Her mom would scold her for being so upset about it all, but Betty didn't like watching Polly practice for a beauty pageant. Frankly, she thought the whole thing boring and a little gross.

Betty's dad would get her out of spending time with her mom and Polly from time to time, claiming that he needed his little assistant to help him with his latest project in the garage. Alice wouldn't let Betty spend too much time learning about cars, though, not wanting Betty to be too much of a tomboy. Betty begged off doing anything remotely related to the pageant by spending the rest of the time in the Musketeers' treehouse.

Despite all the 'hard work' Polly and Alice put into Polly's first pageant, Polly didn't win first place. Cheryl Blossom did. Though Polly cried about it for weeks after, Alice managed to convince her to try again the next year. Betty almost threw a tantrum at having to repeat such a thing all over again but one arched eyebrow from her mother had quieted the angry voices just bursting to spill out.

By the time summer came around, the deadline for signing up for the 2006 pageant slowly drawing to an end, Alice had not only signed Polly up for Little Miss Riverdale, but she had also done the same for Betty. Even though there was only an eleven-month age difference between Betty and Polly, thanks to Betty's birth month being late in the year, they were in two separate age categories. Once Alice found that out, she had immediately signed up both her daughters. She didn't want them competing against each other – she knew better than most how ugly sibling rivalry could get.

"I don't want to be in a pageant!" Betty glared at Alice.

"Elizabeth, manners!" Alice chided, flaring her eyes wide.

Betty frowned, looking around their backyard. No one else was around. Unless her mom was worried Archie or his parents might overhear (and even if they did they would just be kind about it so Betty didn't think that's such a bad thing), Betty didn't know why her mother was panicking.

"I'm not going to be in a pageant," Betty insisted, feeling the anger starting to take over. She hated that her mom wanted to erase all the parts of her that made her Betty, hated that she seemed to want Betty to be a second Polly. Her fingers started to curl, nails digging into her palm, and the color red started to blur the edges of her vision.

"Elizabeth," her mom sighed, as though she was being particularly difficult. "This will be good for you. Trust me. I know what's best."

"No, you don't!" Betty argued, her breathing starting to come out in harsh pants. Feeling as though something was pressing down on her chest, making it difficult to breathe, Betty scrambled off the lounge chair she was seated on and headed towards the fence separating theirs from the Andrews' backyard.

Alice sat up in her own lounger, pushing her sunglasses down as she scowled at her daughter's abrupt exit. "Elizabeth, get back here!" she called out. "We're not done!"

Betty ignored her mother, reaching up on tiptoes to unlatch the door built into the fence separating hers and Archie's houses. She paused to lock the door behind her, despite knowing that a locked door wouldn't stop her mother for very long. Running towards the treehouse, Betty climbed it, her mind clearing up bit by bit the higher she climbed. By the time she reached the top few steps leading to the treehouse, she could hear Jughead and Archie inside, giggling together as they flipped through Archie's new Spiderman comic.

Feeling lighter than she had all day, Betty stepped through the door of the treehouse, grinning as her best friends waved her over. She burrowed into the space between them, mimicking their positions on their bellies, and silently watched on as Jughead and Archie argued over the best comic villain they've come across so far.

Alice gave Betty half an hour to calm down, having seen the anger twisting her baby girl's angelic features into something that scared her a little. However, she still had to get Betty back to talk to her about the pageant. And to get her to understand that she couldn't just run away if she didn't like what was being said. She waited thirty minutes to give Betty some time to stop being so stubborn before storming into the Andrews' backyard herself.

She stopped at the base of the tree, squinting against the late morning sun as she peered up at the treehouse. She could hear music playing, some entirely inappropriate song blaring on that stereo she knew Mary had let the kids have for the treehouse.

"Elizabeth!" she called out, raising her voice to be heard over the music. "Elizabeth, that's enough moping now!"

The music turned down slightly, just enough for her rebellious little girl to be heard as she screamed out, "There's nobody here called Elizabeth!"

Rolling her eyes, Alice cursed the fact that Betty was so much like her when she was younger. She could almost hear her own mother chuckling, saying, "It's karma, my dear. For all the trouble you caused me and your dad. It's your turn now."

Shaking off the sadness and guilt at the thought of her mother, Alice steeled herself for yet another hard battle with her youngest.

" _Betty_ ," Alice called out with her daughter's preferred nickname. "This isn't cute anymore. You can't just run away when I tell you something you don't like."

The volume of the music turned up a little, no response from Betty beyond that.

Alice gritted her teeth, frustration raising her temper up a few hundred notches.

"Betty, if you don't come down now, you're grounded for the next month," she threatened. "That means no Archie, no treehouse – and _no Jughead_."

It was that last threat that turned the music off completely.

Alice smiled, unable to help feeling just a tad triumphant, as Betty peered out the window of the treehouse, a frown on her little face.

"We are going to go home right now, young lady, and talk about this," Alice said sternly. "Do you understand?"

Betty's frown grew deeper.

"Come down now, Betty," Alice ordered. "And don't frown. It makes your face look less pleasant."

Alice took Betty by the hand and firmly guided her back to their own house where she sat the little girl down in the kitchen with a glass of orange juice, hoping the chilled drink would calm her down a little.

"I know you're upset because you don't like pageants," Alice started civilly.

"I _hate_ pageants!" Betty insisted.

"Betty, don't interrupt. That's rude," Alice chided. "And don't say hate."

Betty glowered at her mother, sipping at her juice aggressively.

"I know you think pageants are boring but it's important to mommy," Alice tried. "Won't you do it for me?"

"No," Betty pouted.

Alice sighed. She absolutely hated to do this, especially when she could just _feel_ it in her bones that FP and his future delinquent of a son had something to do with Betty's sudden interest in self-defense, but at least it was something harmless. In fact, it could help Betty with her balance and poise.

_Balance and poise?_ Alice could hear her father's voice mocking her. _What the hell are you talking about? What about a way to defend herself? What about a way to defend the Serpents? The Southside? She should be preparing for her own jacket one day. God, Ali. Did you forget everything?_

Resolutely ignoring the memories of her father teaching her how to curl her fingers the right way to form punching fists, Alice sighed, gritted her teeth, forced a Cooper-grade smile on her face and found a way to get through to her little girl. "Will you do it for karate lessons?" she asked, hiding a grimace as Betty perked up, the unsightly frown on her face slowly dissipating.

Betty chewed on her lower lip, thinking hard.

Ever since FP had started teaching Jughead how to block punches and put up his fighting fists in Archie's backyard, Betty had grown obsessed. It had looked like a lot of fun and she had been really excited when FP had invited her to learn along with Jughead. It had been just as fun to learn as it had been to watch – maybe even more so – and Betty had started looking forward to FP's lessons more and more. Jughead wasn't a fan of it until Betty started joining in (which had made FP, not for the first or last time, extremely grateful for the little blonde who had torpedoed her way into his son's life) but Archie was more interested in team sports, choosing to sit on the sidelines and cheer Betty and Jughead on while playing fetch with his puppy Vegas, a rescue runt from the pound he'd gotten as a Christmas present the year before.

FP, in turn, was very careful not to teach Jughead and Betty unless neither Alice nor Hal were home (which was easy, as they were always at the Register) as he knew Alice would never allow it. Hal was a spineless rat who would cave and tell Alice, getting all puffed up by her praise. FP knew that Alice wanted distance from everything she had as Alice Smith, which didn't make sense to him because she'd had more pride being a Southsider, a Serpent, than anyone he'd ever met. Michael and Kitty were _both_ fighters – Wesson women were always accomplished fighters and Michael had been a boxing champion. He supposed Alice just didn't want a reminder of any of that.

It was hilarious to the point of sad surprise, then, that Betty seemed to naturally gravitate towards and excel at the things that Alice wanted to leave in her past. She loved learning how to fight and, if he'd heard correctly from Jughead who spewed Betty-facts every second he was awake, she loved learning to tinker in the garage with her dad. It wasn't bikes they worked on but close enough. Fred warned FP about teaching Betty things Alice would never approve of, but Betty had wormed her way into FP's heart, and he wouldn't let Alice's strange new ideologies come between Betty and whatever she wanted to learn. Besides, it helped that Jughead seemed excited to learn whatever she wanted to.

Despite Jughead getting excited to learn how to properly throw and block punches, Betty had more enthusiasm and, if he were honest, more skill. Against his better judgment, FP had risked Alice finding out about his fight lessons by telling Betty that she could learn more than the street-fighting style of self-defense he could teach her. "You could try asking your mom for karate lessons," he had told Betty, pulling up pictures of what it looked like on his phone so she could have a look. Fred had sent him a disapproving look from where he was teaching Archie how to throw a football just a few feet away, but Betty's smile as she scrolled through the pictures, Jughead squished next to her and peering in curiously, made it all worth it.

Betty had promised FP that she wouldn't tell Alice where she got the idea of 'karate' from. It hadn't stopped her from guessing it, anyway.

"She's four years old, FP," Alice had snapped at him, cornering him against his truck outside Fred and Mary's house the moment he'd pulled up to pick Jughead up from a playdate the very next day. "She doesn't have an innate knowledge of martial arts. Where else would she have heard it from other than you!?"

FP had shrugged, hands stuffed in his jeans' pockets. "Maybe she heard about it from a friend at kindergarten," he'd suggested, giving her a half-smirk she had wanted to slap off and kiss off his face at the same time. "How would I know, Ali?"

"Don't call me that," she'd snapped. "FP, I know it was you."

"I'm telling you, I didn't tell her," he'd insisted.

"You're still a horrible liar," she had informed him curtly, rolling her eyes.

Alice had stuck firm to her decision not to allow Betty to take up karate lessons, despite Betty's incessant pleas for it. Hal hadn't understood why Alice was so against it – self-defense, he'd argued for Betty, was a good thing for their little girl to learn. He had wanted Polly to learn, too, but Betty's older sister was far more interested in barbies and tea parties. Alice hadn't budged – until now.

Betty, having had wanted karate lessons for weeks now, weighed her options.

She _absolutely_ didn't want to dress up in frilly dresses and twirl around and find her 'special talent' she could perform on stage to see if she was the prettiest, most talented little girl in Riverdale.

She _did_ want to go to karate lessons. Preferably with Jughead.

"Okay," she tilted her chin up at her mother, who knew without a doubt that the stubborn set of her little girl's jaw would spell trouble for her. "But I want to go to karate class with Juggie."

Alice sighed, rolling her eyes. Of course, she thought bitterly. _Of_ course _her condition would include that damn Jones boy._

Finding a class that both Betty and Jughead could attend together was a challenge.

FP could only afford classes held at the community center, which was firmly located in the Southside. Alice would rather die than send her little girl there.

There were exactly two gyms in the Northside – one was a more luxurious facility where personal trainers charged a hundred bucks an hour and there was a juice bar you could chug cucumber water at all day while waiting for a seaweed wrap to detox. Alice had a lifelong membership.

The other was catered to kids. There was a monthly fee parents paid if they wanted their kids to be able to work out there (which plenty of the high school jocks and cheerleaders did) and use their facilities, but the fee wasn't much and Alice felt the money was worth it – the gym, called Active Fitness, was a big space. There was a regular gym, a swimming pool, a running track, a wall to climb…even a badminton court. Polly and Betty were too young for all of those things, but Active Fitness also happened to offer classes, from kids ages two and up.

Just Alice's – or, rather, Betty's – luck, Active Fitness had a Karate for Beginners class for kids ages four to six. It was a rather tame class, with the instructor spending half the time corralling the tiny students rather than teaching them anything, but it was safe, it was in a facility that was in the Northside and free of any gang affiliations, and it was more than enough to keep Betty happy.

Betty was thrilled when Alice brought it up and she practically yanked the phone from her mother's hand to tell FP about the class herself, voice reaching a decibel so high that Alice could hear Hot Dog barking in response from the other end. Though Jughead wasn't a fan of anything to do with physical activity, he relished any time spent in Betty's presence. Pretty soon, it was two extremely excitable little kids begging FP to let Jughead go for karate classes with Betty. Not wanting to be left out, Archie became the third little Musketeer begging for martial arts lessons.

No matter how much FP scrimped, the Jones' family budget didn't allow for karate lessons at a Northside gym.

Gladys was of no help – she hated Alice's presence in their lives, hated Betty more for being the reason Alice was a continued presence. She wasn't the biggest fan of Betty's clear influence over Jughead, either, though FP rooted for the two – his boy was smart as a whip, quick on his feet and even quicker with his words. He didn't bother indulging in his talents, however, unless Betty was around to indulge in them with him. She encouraged him in ways neither FP nor Gladys could, no matter how hard they tried. Honestly, most days he felt she was Godsent, mirroring his son's view of her. Gladys had a different opinion of Betty – she was the carrier of the burden of her mother's sins, the innocent lamb Gladys will happily slaughter because the wolf was too dangerous to attack.

"If you want Jug to go to karate class with Alice's kid so much, _you_ find the money for it," Gladys had snapped at him, bitter and angry. "Like I've got any energy left in me to work another extra shift so he could waste my hard-earned money like a Northside brat."

Fred, knowing without having been told that FP was struggling to afford the class, secretly raised FP's pay by the exact amount he'd need to pay for it. It wasn't a well-kept secret (FP confronted him about it the first time he'd seen the extra amount in his paycheck) but Fred didn't regret it ("It's not for you," he'd told FP defiantly. "It's for Jughead." And, just like that, all the fight left his oldest friend until all that was left was a pat on the back for being so thoughtful and glassy eyes shifting away so he couldn't see how much his gesture affected the Serpent King, a gruff grunt of gratitude making his heart swell).

Archie didn't have much interest in the karate lessons. By the third class, he had gained the reputation of troublemaker. "He's not doing it on purpose," the instructor told Fred and Mary. "But he just gets distracted easily. Have you noticed him doing that with anything else?" And, suddenly, they had other things to worry about than Archie not attending one activity with his best friends.

Jughead diligently went to class with Betty, excelling at it as well as she did but having none of the exuberance that she had. It was her reward for enduring Crazy Pageant Stuff, which she couldn't get out of even when she pretended to faint every five minutes (her mom had just threatened to bring her to the hospital to get her blood taken for tests. They would have to take a lot, her mom had said, enough to make her sickly and unable to climb or run or swim or learn karate ever again. It had stopped the fake fainting from happening again, which felt a lot like her mom winning in a game Betty couldn't understand yet).

Though she had not-so-patiently sat through and twirled and curtseyed and smiled-in-a-ladylike-manner through all sorts of Crazy Pageant Stuff for the sake of karate lessons (and especially karate lessons with Jughead), nothing could prepare either Cooper women for Pageant Day itself.

Betty had gotten a nightmare the night before where she stood on stage in front of creepily smiling judges, her mother in the front row, and when asked what her talent was, Betty had morphed into Polly, no differences between them whatsoever. It had scared her enough to wake her up screaming. Alice had rushed into the young girl's bedroom, two o'clock in the morning, and even after calming her down with a glass of warm milk, Betty hadn't fallen back asleep until hours later.

She woke up late on Pageant Day to an irate mother and even more annoyed older sister. Cranky from the nightmare she still vividly recalled and from the restless sleep she'd had, Betty had chosen to lock herself in her room, refusing to participate in a pageant she never wanted to be a part of.

"Elizabeth Christiane Cooper," Alice called through gritted teeth. "If you don't come out of there right now, after all the hard work we've done, you'll stay in there for the rest of your life!"

"I don't care!" Betty shouted back from under her covers. "I don't want to go to the pageant! You can't make me!"

In the end, Hal had to take Polly to the pageant first. The elder Cooper girl grew more and more impatient as she waited for her younger sister to stop having a meltdown. She was annoyed at the possibility of being late and had started whining at her mother an hour before all contestants were supposed to reach the Belmont Hotel for registration.

"Mommy! I can't lose to Cheryl Blossom again, I just can't!" Polly stomped her foot, tugging on her mother's sleeve to get her attention from where Alice stood outside Betty's door.

Alice, seriously considering getting Hal's toolbox from the garage and taking the hinges off of Betty's door to get to her stubborn daughter, sighed, irritated that this little snag was taking a little too long to resolve.

After getting Hal to take Polly ahead, Alice knocked on Betty's door and tried again, finally deciding on bribery as the best option (it had worked months ago to get Betty to enter her name for the pageant, after all).

"Come on, honey," Alice wheedled. "Just tell me what you want and I'll make sure you get it – only if you agree to go to the pageant."

Betty frowned, burrowing in deeper into her covers. "I _want_ to sleep," she said stubbornly. "So I can't go to the pageant. Sorry, mommy."

Alice's head dropped to the cool surface of Betty's door, rolling her eyes at her sassy little girl. "Look, I know you think today won't be fun, but it will," Alice pleaded. "You just have to try it, baby. Please."

"It will only be fun if Juggie and Archie are there," Betty scowled, pulling her blanket over her head and blinking in the dark.

Grasping onto the ends of the thinnest straws, Alice got to work.

The Andrews boy was easy – he lived right next door and though Fred had quirked an eyebrow at her request, he trusted her to watch over his son, especially when her idea had been pretty harmless. Weird and unexpected, sure, but harmless nonetheless. Mary was in court all day and he had so much paperwork to get through. Archie was in an excitable mood and Fred warned Alice about that but she waved that away – she'd sit through anything as long as it gets Betty to the pageant. Archie loved spending time with his best friends but watching girls flounce around on stage seemed like a stupid way to spend the day. Betty didn't even want to do it, from all the complaining she's done the past few weeks. He'd rather go to the park with Jug and Betty but Alice tempted him with ice-cream afterwards and he agreed easily.

Jughead was a different matter entirely. For one thing, he lived all the way in Sunnyside. For another, Alice wasn't sure she could convince his parents to let him come along to the pageant. She didn't have Gladys' number, choosing not to keep that kind of negativity saved in her phone. She rang up FP instead, having had no choice but to keep his number due to Betty's insistence that Jughead be a part of her life.

"'lo," FP's gravelly voice greeted her after the third time she tried ringing him.

Alice frowned. She suppressed the part of her that shivered at the tone of his voice. She could just imagine him, tousle-haired and sleepy-eyed, shirtless as he woke from his sleep to answer the phone. She could remember as though it was yesterday how his morning stubble felt against her skin, as rough as his voice, both sending shivers down her spine. She could feel the ghost of his hands, large and warm and comforting, smoothing up her body, cupping her neck, his breath against her ear, the taste of him on her tongue…

"Hello?" FP called out again, sounding much more annoyed. "Anyone there? Alice, that you?"

Blinking away the memories of a past she shouldn't remember anyway, Alice steeled her nerve and her voice. "Just woke up, FP?" she sneered. "Can't say I'm surprised."

FP rolled sleep-heavy eyes. He must be a glutton for punishment when it came to women. Alice had been busting his balls since they were fifteen years old and Gladys had picked up the mantle when Alice had abandoned it. The moment Betty had entered his son's life, Alice had returned, too, with the strength and all the chaos of a hurricane. Now he had two ball-busting women driving him insane day and night.

"I had a late shift at the Wyrm," he grumbled.

"A late shift," Alice laughed derisively. "Is that what they're calling it these days?"

"Allie," he ground out, irritated beyond belief. "I've had exactly two hours of sleep. What. Do. You. Want?"

She sighed, rolling her eyes heavenward as she tried to ignore the burn of shame for even having to ask him to help her bribe her own daughter to do as she was told. "I need your help," she admitted, voice quiet. "I've got an emergency."

FP, having just reached behind him to fluff his thin pillow into a more comfortable spot, froze. "What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, hungover senses growing sharper at her tone.

"Betty won't go to the pageant if Jughead isn't there."

FP blinked. Once. Twice. Exhaled.

"Are you friggin' kidding me?" he asked, snapping a little louder than he intended to.

On the floor of the bedroom, snuggled into his sleeping bag on his belly and flipping through one of his Baxter Brothers books, Jughead jumped at his father's loud voice. FP looked over, remorseful, and gave his boy a reassuring smile. Jughead smiled back, turning his attention back to the book in his hands, sharp blue eyes raking over the printed words with careful deliberation. He was always doing that, even when he was much younger, and back then, FP could never figure out if he could actually read the words or if the books had been read to him so many times he'd just memorized the stories.

"Alice, that is not an emergency," FP half-whispered to the woman on the other end of the line. "That's barely anything."

"Well, it's something to me," Alice snapped back, just as annoyed as he was.

"Your daughter not wanting to participate in a creepy kiddie beauty contest is not an emergency," FP insisted. "It's just good sense – something you're lacking, by the way, if you think those things aren't hunting grounds for pedophiles."

"Okay, that is sick," she chided him. "It's an innocent contest."

"Sure, whatever," he fought back a yawn. "Look, I've got three hours I could use for sleep before I gotta be at the construction site. So, sorry, Alice, but you're on your own. Tell Betty I'm on her side."

In hindsight, he really shouldn't have said Betty's name.

Forgetting all about the book in front of him, the mystery he could still get lost in for the hundredth time or the grumbling in his belly, Jughead looked up with perked ears and wide eyes, looking just as much the whipped little puppy he was at the mere mention of the little blonde girl he loved.

"Betty's on the phone?" Jughead asked, moving with a speed FP didn't know he had, climbing out of his sleeping bag and crawling up on the bed he shared with FP and Gladys in their little one-bedroom trailer. Little fingers, cold, tiny and firm, gripped FP's wrist, tugging insistently. "Can I talk to her?"

FP gently pulled Jughead's hands away from his arm. "It's not Betty," he told his little boy. "Go back to readin' your book."

Jughead frowned, unable to let it go. "Is it Betty's mommy?" he asked, a dog with a bone. "Is Betty okay? Is she sick?"

"Nah, kid, she's fine," FP promised. Jughead stared at him, doleful eyes disbelieving. FP sighed. God, the boy was so far gone for the blonde-haired, green-eyed mini-Alice. He half-dreaded being witness to Betty and Jughead's connection growing as they got older. On the other hand, it would bug the hell out of Alice and that would be worth everything. "She just doesn't want to go to that contest today."

Jughead's expression cleared and he nodded knowingly. "She hates it," he told his dad solemnly. "She wanted to burn the dress, but Ms. Mary caught us."

FP bit his lip, stifling a grin. Alice hated that Betty was naturally a mini-Alice Smith, every action and decision and hobby reminiscent of everything her teenaged counterpart had stood so proudly for. Everything Betty showed interest in so far was everything Alice Cooper didn't want for her.

"Archie was supposed to stand guard but he got distracted," Jughead informed FP, looking disgruntled at having been caught in his and Betty's act of rebellion. "He's always doing that."

"Hey, no tattling," FP chided his son, proud that his kid knew how to properly utilize three-syllable words at such a tender age. Gladys' brother's kid, protective little Sweet Pea, was nowhere near as advanced, bless his heart. "We don't snitch, especially on our friends. Got it?"

Jughead pressed his lips into a pout, nodding. "Got it, daddy," he promised, contrite. He paused a beat, then went right back to his bone, puppy that he was, "Is Betty okay?"

FP used every ounce of willpower he had left in his body to resist rolling his eyes. Knowing there was no way in hell that his boy was going to stop badgering him about the little blonde girl, FP had to swallow any feelings he had for Alice-freaking-Cooper and give in just a little. For Jughead.

Breathing deeply through his nose, he squeezed his eyes shut for a long moment before bringing the phone receiver back to his lips.

"Look, I can't drive my kid anywhere right now," he admitted begrudgingly.

"Too drunk?" Alice chirped, her smug tone so strong he could practically see the triumphant look on her face.

FP scowled at her assumption. "No, too tired," he corrected her, feeling a surge of anger at her disbelieving scoff. "I just finished a twelve-hour shift at Sammy's, followed by Church, and I've gotta be up in three hours to go to my second job at the construction site. Say whatever you want about me, Alice, but I'm not endangering my kid's life by driving him anywhere right now."

Alice felt a lump in her throat. It was easy to make herself forget the boy she'd fallen in love with all those years ago when he was a grumpy, drunk gang leader on the other side of town. But moments like these, when he was sweet and he showed how much he cared for his child…It made her remember he was the only boy she'd ever loved. It made her think of their shared connection, the one she had cast aside to build a life outside of the one she never wanted.

"Alice? Hello? Anyone there?" FP's irritated voice broke her out of her spell. "Look, if you want him to be there, you're gonna have to come pick him up yourself."

"Fine," she snapped, pushing down her emotions brought about by just the sound of his voice, crushing them under the weight of haughty indifference. "I'll be there in half an hour. Try not to dress him up in flannel. It's a sophisticated event."

FP stared at his phone as she hung up on him, unsettled. How much she'd changed, a different creature entirely than the one he'd been so deeply in love with, startled him even years later.

Looking down at the expectant look on his little boy's face, FP felt his heart swell three times its size. "Okay, kid," he sighed. "Go get in the shower. Miss Alice is gonna come pick you up in a little bit to hang out with Betty and Archie. Okay?"

The words were barely out of his mouth before Jughead was scrambling off the bed, dashing towards the door of the bathroom. FP watched him go with amusement dancing in his eyes, a soft smile tugging his lips upwards.

If there was anything he could thank Alice and her sudden veer off course for, it was Jughead. He couldn't imagine a life without his little boy.

Alice tried hard to calm her nerves as she drove her Prius down the bridge that connected the Southside and the Northside of Riverdale. The water seemed so calm on either side of the bridge. Alice could almost taste the dew in the air, hear the ghost of laughter as she caught sight of imprints of herself and FP, younger than they were now, still wild and free, still bonded together in chaos and love, still united.

She pulled up at Sunnyside, right outside FP's trailer. She hadn't wanted to come all the way there, but FP had refused to meet her at the edge of the trailer park, let alone at the bridge, calling her out for being ashamed of where she'd come from. Having had no time to go another round in that same old fight, Alice had simply agreed to pick Jughead up from the front door of his parents' trailer.

Alice cast a quick, nervous glance around as the little boy led his father by the hand to Alice's shiny silver car. She didn't see anyone around but the fact that Sunnyside was just two blocks away from Wesson's Groceries set her on edge.

The door to the backseat opened and Jughead climbed in, ratty backpack slung over his shoulders and a bunch of wildflowers he'd plucked from Mrs. Finch's garden next door clutched in his fist.

"Here, Betty," he thrust the flowers in Betty's direction, his face the color of Archie's hair. "You look pretty."

Betty beamed at Jughead as she took the proffered flowers, blushing a little. "Thanks, Juggie," she hugged the flowers to her chest.

"Oh, honey, don't get dirt on your dress," Alice chided, feeling insulted that Betty was almost preening at Jughead's words when she had threatened to lock herself back up in her room when Alice had said the same thing not twenty minutes earlier.

Betty ignored her mother, happy as a clam now that both her best friends were with her, even if Archie was deep in sleep, snoring away with his head against the window. Jughead settled in next to her, his worn sneakers knocking gently against her glittery pink ballet flats.

"I'll have him back by lunch," Alice promised FP.

FP shrugged, looking disheveled and barely awake. "Could you take him to Fred's instead?" he asked, hating that he was asking her for a favor. "Mary's supposed to look after him while I'm at work later. Gladys and I will both be at work until late tonight. Jug usually spends the nights at Archie's on Saturdays, anyway."

Alice nodded, a smidge relieved that she didn't have to come to the park twice in a day. "Sure," she said distractedly, already putting the car in drive and ready to back up back to the bridge.

FP peered into the backseat of the Prius, reaching in to tug on the seatbelt for his boy. "You be good for Miss Alice and Miss Mary, okay?" he twisted his pinkie finger with Jughead's. "I'll call you later."

"Okay, daddy," Jughead agreed easily, hugging his backpack filled with his pajamas and fresh clothes for the next day. His stuffed puppy, named Hot Dog after the original, real life counterpart he couldn't take with him to the Northside, was tucked inside, too, along with a Baxter Brothers book he wanted to read together with Betty later after all the pageant nonsense was over and done with. "I love you."

"I love you, too, boy," FP ruffled his son's hair and gave Alice a nod as he backed away.

A little guilty that she was feeling relieved over father and son being separated, even for a short amount of time, Alice turned to look at the kids when she stopped at a red light. Archie was still snoring away, having been disgruntled earlier at being woken up earlier than he wanted to be for something so silly. He'd fallen asleep the moment she'd buckled him into the car. Betty and Jughead, however, were very much awake, giggling away as they thumb wrestled.

Smiling slightly, Alice called for their attention, "How about we get burgers and milkshakes at Pop's after the pageant?" she suggested.

Betty's eyes lit up, a guarded look on her face as she asked, "Really?"

She sounded dubious and a part of Alice felt saddened that she was the reason for Betty's distrust. She had forbidden junk food for months now in preparation of the pageant. A larger part of her reminded herself that the no-junk rule had been in place for a reason, and it had been for Betty's own good.

"Really," she promised. "One time won't hurt."

As Betty and Jughead cheered, falling against each other in childish laughter as their loud whoops startled Archie back to wakefulness, Alice turned back to face the front, foot lightly tapping the gas pedal as the light turned green again. She would just get Pop's to give Betty a smaller portion later – no reason to binge on unhealthy foods now when Alice was sure she would enter Betty into next year's pageant, too.

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**What do you think so far? I want to explore Betty's mental health issues in Serpentine. Dark!Betty won't be having online sex chats with strangers as a virgin, but she will go down a much darker path. Part of that will be the mental health problems she'll have (like canonical self-harm). I feel like Riverdale sort of just throws out signs of mental illness and then just ignores it. I don't want to do that here, not for Betty or anyone else.**

**Please let me know what you think of this chapter. I'm really loving baby-Bughead's connection.**


	3. I've Got Sunshine On A Cloudy Day

**A/N:** Title of chapter comes from the song 'My Girl' by the Temptations.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything Riverdale related.

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**_Chapter 3:_** I've Got Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

**Aug 2007**   
**Riverdale, NY**

Betty squealed as she ran around the Andrews' backyard, Jughead and Archie's giggles echoing around her as they did the same.

It was the middle of a heat wave in their tiny little town. They had sweat buckets without moving an inch in Archie's house, and it was boring and silly.

Her parents were both at work despite it being a Sunday ("The press never sleeps, Elizabeth.") but FP was around, free for the day from both jobs he worked, and had decided to spend it at his best friend's house where it was slightly cooler than the tin can he called home.

Jughead was thrilled. Not only did he have his best friends to play with, his father was also around to join in the fun.

FP had been the one to suggest all of them head out to the backyard despite the unbearable heat.

"But it's too hot," Archie whined, flopping down on the floor of his parents' living room and wishing for snow in the middle of August. "I don't want to move."

"Me, neither," Jughead agreed, shifting uneasily as his shirt stuck to his skin.

FP chuckled, reaching down and hoisting both boys up into his arms. Fred and Mary had gone off to run some errands – something they had to take turns with usually, what with three children in their care most of the day – and FP had waved them off, insisting he was just fine handling the three rascals by himself for a few hours.

"C'mon, Betty," he urged the little girl, watching them curiously from her place on the floor next to the couch. Grinning at being included, the blonde spitfire leapt to her feet, ready to join in on whatever new adventure the boys were getting up to.

FP set the two squirming boys on the grass and had gone to work on the garden hose. Betty had caught on to his plan first and had run off, screeching, running away from the gentle spray of icy cold water FP aimed in her direction. When the boys started screaming in laughter, he pointed the hose in their direction, too, occasionally splashing some of that ice-cold water on himself to cool off.

Once all three kids were sufficiently cooled off, panting from exertion and uncontrollable smiles plastered permanently onto their faces, FP turned off the hose and flopped down on the grass next to them. Vegas, having had bounded out of the house to join in the fun the moment it started, panted heavily as he laid over Jughead and Archie, long pink tongue darting out to lick the still-cool moisture from their faces.

"Eww, Vegas," Archie giggled, squirming under his furry companion. "Stop it!"

Vegas barked happily, tail wagging, as he ignored Archie.

FP smiled as he watched over the two boys. Jughead looked happier than FP could remember in recent days. Another stab of guilt to the stomach had him making another promise to himself to stay sober this time, stay good for his son the way his dad never did for him. Just making himself that promise had an itch burning beneath his skin, his mind flashing to the bottle of Jack he'd stashed under the sink.

The ticklish sensation of a tiny finger tracing over his skin made him turn to his side. Betty, with her curious green eyes and investigative nature, was perched on her knees, a thin little finger tracing the outline of his tattoo through his shirt. He hadn't noticed it but the water had rendered his shirt see-through and, for the first time in her life, Betty Cooper was seeing what a Serpent tattoo looked like.

_Ah, shit,_ FP thought, grimacing.

"You have a snake on your skin!" Betty told FP, eyes wide with wonder.

"Uh, yeah," came FP's intelligent reply. "A friend of mine drew it for me."

"With crayons?" Betty asked.

FP grinned at her, "Something better."

Betty rocked back on her heels, gazing at him contemplatively in a way he _knew_ was going to spell trouble for him. "I want one, too," she declared.

_Yup, knew it,_ FP sighed.

"Want what?" Jughead asked, gently pushing Vegas off of him so he could sit up and join in on the conversation Alice would kill them all for if she knew it was happening at all.

"A drawing on my skin," Betty told him, pointing at FP's snake tattoo. "It's pretty."

Somewhere, somehow, FP was sure Michael Smith was laughing his ass off.

"It's not a drawing. It's a tattoo," FP corrected Betty. "And you're too young to get one."

Her eyes flashed, defiance at the thought that she was too-anything to do something she wanted. Once again, her likeness to the Ali Smith he'd once loved and adored sent an ice pick through his heart.

"Well, how old do I have to be?" she asked stubbornly.

"Thirty," FP replied in a deadpan.

Betty gasped, eyes growing wide in shock. "But that's so old!" she protested. "I have to wait forever!"

FP felt a grin tugging on his lips at her total dismay. "Sorry, kiddo," he tugged on her braid. "Them's the rules."

Betty pouted, climbing over him to snuggle with Vegas. Jughead watched her with worried eyes, patting her on the back in comfort. FP shook his head at his besotted little boy, thanking God that Betty seemed to be just as taken, pressing into his side to accept the comfort he so willingly gave to her.

"I have markers in my room," Archie supplied helpfully. "Maybe you can draw a tattoo with them?"

Betty lit up, looking over at her red-headed friend with a smile. "Wow! Thanks, Archie!" she beamed.

"Yeah, thanks, Archie," FP grumbled, rolling his eyes heavenward.

He tried to ignore them, but Betty and Jughead's persistent tugging at his clothes and wrists eventually had him reluctantly climbing to his feet and following the kids inside. The heatwave outside had dried up their clothes within minutes but FP still insisted they all changed into clean, fresh clothes – mostly as a way to stall.

Betty Cooper was nothing if not persistent and she sat right next to him on the Andrews' couch, bare arm thrust under his nose and Archie's markers cradled in her lap, waiting expectantly for her very first tattoo.

"What are you going to get, Betty?" Jughead asked curiously, almost climbing over FP's shoulders to get a closer look.

Betty tapped a finger to her chin as she thought about it. She wanted an animal, just like FP, and snakes were pretty cool. She had learned all about it in the nature books she had borrowed from the library. She wanted to be a vet when she grew up because that's what animal doctors were called.

"A snake," she decided finally, flashing FP and Jughead a sunshine smile. "Just like you, FP."

FP forced the hysterical laughter down. If Alice knew that her daughter was getting inked with a snake, drawn on her skin by the Serpent King himself, she'd burn the town down in anger. Never mind that it was being drawn by markers. She would only focus on the part where this mimicked a new Serpent initiate getting inked with their brand, always done by the King.

"Well, I don't know about that," FP tried to dissuade her. "I'm not that great at drawing snakes. How about a different animal?"

Betty sighed, disappointed. "Okay," she conceded. "How about a cat?"

He grinned at her. "Cat it is," he agreed, picking up a purple marker and getting to work.

Jughead watched in fascination as the image on her skin became clearer, eyes growing wider by the second. "Daddy, can I have one, too?" he pleaded, bright blue eyes flicking up to look at his father.

"Me, too! Me, too!" Archie jumped in, throwing himself on the couch next to Betty.

FP chuckled. "Well, why don't you boys think about what you want for your first tattoos, huh?" he encouraged, gently dislodging Jughead from his shoulder so he wouldn't mess up the cat on Betty's arm.

Jughead and Archie giggled as they play wrestled and yelled out ideas for each other's tattoos. Archie's suggestions were all superhero-themed while Jughead had his mind set on food.

FP finished up Betty's temporary tattoo and received a hug in gratitude.

"Do you like it?" he asked the little girl.

"It's pretty," she praised, pursing her lips as she looked over her new ink. "It just would be better with glitter."

FP nodded. "I'll take note for next time," he promised.

Betty grinned, kissing his cheek and leaping off the couch so that Jughead and Archie could take their turns. Archie decided on a football, which was easy enough, and Jughead couldn't decide between a cheeseburger and a crown so FP drew both for him, giving his cheeseburger a smile and a jaunty crown.

"Thanks, FP," Archie beamed, running to the nearest mirror to check out his new tattoo.

Jughead poked at his own tattoo, blushing when Betty complimented him on it. "It's making me hungry," Betty joked, slapping a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter when Jughead's stomach growled in agreement.

FP chuckled, reaching out to ruffle his son's hair. "You guys wanna head out for Pop's?" he asked, knowing the answer even before all three kids started to cheer.

"Maybe your mom will like your cat tattoo, Betts," Jughead told her, stealing another fry off her plate. He was seated on her other side, needing Betty as a buffer between himself and Archie because the other boy had a tendency to just snatch food from Jughead's plate, which he hated. It always ended in a fight, which FP had no tolerance for on an empty stomach.

"I hope so," Betty pushed her food around her plate. Despite having cheered for Pop's earlier with Jughead and Archie, she wasn't feeling very hungry at all. Every single time she took a bite of food, she could hear her mom telling her that she would get too fat if she even had one more fry. "Maybe if she likes my tattoo, she'll let me have my own kitten."

Jughead lit up when Betty pushed her plate over to him, letting him have the remainder of her food. She had barely had half of her burger and she had barely touched her fries, but her tummy was feeling too bloated for her to continue eating. She watched in fascination as Jughead devoured the rest of her lunch, his own plate already picked clean.

"Maybe," Jughead said through a mouth full of fries. "You can always share Hot Dog with me."

Betty sighed. "It's not the same," she pouted. "If I have my own kitten, she can cuddle with me at night. It'll be better than a nightlight."

And, boy, did she need a nightlight these days. For some odd reason, Betty had been having strange dreams whenever she went to sleep, without fail. She could never remember what she dreamt about, only that she woke up in cold sweat most days. Sometimes, she'd even scream herself awake. Spying on her parents had let her know that her mom wanted to send her to a doctor to see if there was something wrong with her brain, but her dad had just given her a nightlight to keep her room lit. It would keep the monsters away, he'd told her. Betty thought a kitten might work better.

Jughead reached over and pulled Betty's milkshake closer to her, urging her to have a sip. He always believed that food made everything better. Betty threw him a grateful smile, wrapping her hands around the chilly glass, feeling the condensation drip onto her skin.

"Guys, Moose was telling me the other day that there's a few spots open in Little League," Archie told his friends excitedly, only just remembering. "You guys should join! Then we can all play together."

Jughead grimaced. "I don't want to," he said resolutely, dunking a few more fries in ketchup.

Archie deflated at Jughead's easy refusal. Turning to Betty, he gave her an expectant look.

Betty shook her head. "Sorry, Archie," she sighed. "My mom's making me practice for the next pageant."

FP smiled at the way she said 'pageant', like it was a dirty word. Frankly, he wasn't such a fan of the whole thing either. Jughead had gone to the pageant last year – Betty's first – as it was the only way Betty would concede to going to the damn thing in the first place. From what FP had been told, Betty had been miserable the whole day there. God only knew why Alice wanted her to repeat the whole experience.

As it was, Betty was already concocting plans out loud of sabotaging the pageant this year. By some strange twist of luck, despite only giving a half-hearted performance last year, Betty had won in her age group, bringing in first prize. It had been a disappointment to her older sister Polly, who had taken second place in her own age group, losing to Cheryl Blossom for the second time in a row. Despite Betty's protests, Alice insisted on her taking part in the next annual pageant as well, since she was so obviously meant to participate in them.

"You could pretend to break your leg," Jughead suggested.

" _Really_ break your leg," Archie yelled his counter suggestion, a tad too hyper. FP winced as he took in Archie's empty milkshake glass. Maybe he should have insisted the kids drank water with their meals instead.

"You could run away," Jughead glared at Archie over Betty's shoulder.

"Where would I go?" Betty wondered.

"The treehouse," Archie replied immediately.

Betty shook her head. "My mom would look there," she said sagely, making FP hide a grin behind a closed fist under the pretense of a cough. Lord, these kids were hilarious.

"You could hide in my trailer," Jughead patted Betty's hand. "I don't think your mom would go there."

Betty lit up, nodding. "That's true! Can I really hide in your trailer, Jug?" she wondered.

"Sure. You can share the sofa bed with me," he shrugged, burping a little as he ate the last fry.

Without thinking, FP blurted out, "Maybe you could tell your mom you'll go to the pageant this year if she gives you a kitten."

There was a moment of utter silence. FP swallowed thickly, wondering if he had actually taught a little girl the art of blackmail.

Betty turned wide green eyes in his direction. "That is _awesome_!" she grinned at him, eyes sparkling mischievously.

"I was kidding," FP told her hastily, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. "You shouldn't do that. That's a little mean."

"It's mean for her mom to make her go to the pageant," Jughead countered, offended on Betty's behalf. "And Betty needs a kitten, daddy."

"I…Look, I'll talk to your mom about a cat," FP tried. "How about that?"

"Okay," Betty agreed easily, and he breathed easy for half a second. "But if she says no, I'm going to do what you said and tell her I'll only go to the pageant this year if I get a kitten."

FP sighed. Maybe Fred was right – he needed supervision to be around these kids. Especially Betty. God, she was devious.

When he finally brought the three kids back to the Andrews' house, Fred and Mary had already returned from running their errands. Betty watched him diligently from her perch on the living room floor, ignoring Jughead and Archie who were cajoling Vegas into a game of indoor fetch, too sweaty to brave the heat outside when they had air-conditioning inside.

Mary positively cackled when he told her he had to go over next door to maybe-possibly blackmail Alice Cooper so her daughter doesn't attempt it.

"Good luck with that," Fred slapped him on the back. "You want pigs in a blanket or mini quiches for your funeral service?"

FP rolled his eyes. He would've flipped his best friend off if Betty wasn't watching his every move like a hawk.

Getting Alice to agree to a cat was like pulling teeth from cement. Getting her to not come to the conclusion that he'd accidentally taught her precious baby girl the meaning of blackmail was life-threatening.

In the end, Alice only agreed to the cat if Betty went ahead with the pageant first.

"I don't know why you're suddenly her spokesperson, FP," Alice shrugged. "But if she goes through with the pageant, her Christmas present this year will be a cat."

Disaster averted, FP returned to the house next door, relief flooding through his veins even as he wondered when exactly did he become the errand boy for a five-year-old little girl.

**********************************************************************

**October 2007**   
**Riverdale, NY**

At the age of five, little playboy-to-be Archie Andrews kissed his first girl.

It was on a dare from Reggie Mantle and it was with Midge Klump. She was cute and tiny and she smiled wide when she screamed 'Gross, cooties!" and pushed Archie away. Archie ran straight to Betty and Jughead, sharing Betty's packed lunch on the other side of the kindergarten courtyard. He was grinning from ear to ear and though his description of the kiss was nothing spectacular ("It was kinda wet."), it made him suddenly interested in girls. He had three different girlfriends in the next five months, holding hands with them and sharing his animal crackers ("It's possible his crackers aren't missing, Betts," Jughead sighed in disappointment as they witnessed Archie presenting them to a blushing Ethel Muggs).

By his fourth girlfriend, Betty and Jughead were exasperated enough with Archie's shenanigans to prompt the million-dollar question.

"What's so special about kissing?" Betty asked, curiosity sparkling in her green eyes as she watched Archie talk to Josie McCoy at the foot of the tree holding their treehouse.

"I don't know," Jughead grumbled as he peered out the window of the treehouse. They were side by side, crouched on their knees with their arms braced against the windowsill as they waited for Archie to come back up to their treehouse. "But I hope he doesn't invite her up here. This is a Betty, Jughead and Archie treehouse only."

"Maybe it feels nice," Betty mused, watching as Josie step forward, pressing her lips against Archie's for a quick second before they separated, grinning wide.

"He doesn't even have snacks!" Jughead exclaimed, outraged. "Why did he even go back in the house if he wasn't gonna bring back snacks?"

Betty turned to look at her irritated dark-haired friend, frowning. She was getting a little jealous of everyone else getting kisses. It was all a very strange, gross concept to her but she felt a little left out. Archie had started kissing girls when he was five and, here she was, months later, already turned six without even a peck on the cheek to show for it.

She didn't _want_ to kiss _Archie_ , though. Just the thought of it felt weird. He was her friend just as much as Jughead was, but for some reason…She just couldn't imagine kissing Archie on the lips.

Jughead, on the other hand…

She had always been able to confide more in him. Archie didn't know when she starved herself because her mom made her feel like she was getting too fat to fit in regular people clothes. Archie didn't know about the scars on her palms because her nails keep digging into the flesh whenever her mom would say hurtful things 'out of love'. Archie didn't know that sometimes, Betty wanted to run away and never come back.

Jughead shared his one sandwich and ripened apple with her, telling her to eat because no one deserved to starve. ("You're beautiful, Betts. You're the most beautiful girl in the whole world. Don't listen to your Mom, okay?") Jughead secreted away bandages from his dad's stash at home to wrap up her palms and made up barely-believable excuses as to why she wore gloves indoors ("It's a game, Arch! If you take off your gloves, you lose!"). Jughead laid down under the twinkling lights of the treehouse and made whispered plans to run away with her.

She didn't know what prompted her to say it, but it was blurted out before she could stop it, "Maybe _we_ should kiss."

Jughead froze, head whipping around in her direction. He stared, mouth gaping, watching as a pink blush bloomed in her cheeks and slowly turned her whole face red.

"W-what?" he stuttered.

"We should kiss," Betty repeated bravely, despite the hammering of her heart against her ribcage and the embarrassment settling deep in her bones. "See why everyone likes it so much."

His mouth snapped closed and he swallowed a few times against the dryness of his tongue. Blinking furiously, his face turned a magenta color to match her sweater as she patiently waited for him to say something. "Okay," he croaked out eventually.

Betty reared back, shock making her face slack. She hadn't expected him to agree to it, and so quickly at that. She had expected to have to cajole him into it, probably by bribing him with homemade cheesecake brownies (the ones with extra fudge and chunks of white chocolate in them; her mother called them diabetes-inducing).

"Really!?" she exclaimed, incredulous. He jumped a little at the volume of her voice. "I'm sorry…I just didn't think you liked girls."

He shrugged, his skin slowly fading to a peachy color. "I don't," he insisted, the thought of chasing after girls the way Archie did making him positively nauseous. He didn't understand it and, despite what his dad said about things changing when he grew up, Jughead knew himself enough to know that he would never understand it. "I'm not a fan of all the kissing and stuff. But if I would ever kiss anyone, Betty, it would be you," he said, earnest in his reply.

There was, after all, only one girl in the universe he ever wanted around, and it was his blonde-haired, better-than-Nancy-Drew-and-Tracy-True-put-together best friend.

Betty stared at him for a long moment and he shifted uneasily until a slow smile slowly spread across her lips, taking over her entire face and making her eyes sparkle prettily. The sight of it made Jughead calmer and he beamed right back at her, his shoulders losing its tension.

Kissing still seemed gross, but Betty's ground rules seemed reasonable – one peck, closed mouth, lasting for two seconds. Besides, even though he wasn't as curious as she was, he would like to get it over with. Archie's last girlfriend before he moved on to Josie, Cheryl Blossom, had made fun of the both of them for having never kissed anyone before. "Who'd want to kiss Hobo and Bride of Hobo, anyway?" she'd cackled and though Betty had flung mud on Cheryl's red dress and made her cry, Jughead had felt that sting for the rest of the week.

So, there he sat in Archie's treehouse, thigh pressed against Betty's as they leaned back from the window and towards each other. Betty closed her eyes as their noses touched but Jughead kept his wide open. He could see the freckles on her nose, fading by the day, as she leaned in. His eyes almost bugged out of his head as her lips pressed against his, pillow soft and tasting like the vanilla cupcake she'd had at Pop's earlier after school, thanks to Fred treating them. It was two seconds, which he was pretty sure she'd timed, but it felt like the best thing that's ever happened to him.

She pulled back, cheeks flaming hot, and when they met each other's eyes, they burst into uncontrollable giggles. He was thrilled, exhilarated, like he'd run a marathon and finished first. He didn't know how long they laughed for, but Archie came back a little while later to find them still giggling madly. They never told him the reason why, but then again, they were too busy snickering to talk.

*****************************************************************************

**I kind of love the bond Betty has with FP, too. Personally, I think my Betty fits in in the Southside better. I always thought canon Betty did, too. She was happier as a Serpent than pretending to be perfect in the Northside.**


	4. Good Times Never Seemed So Good

**A/N:** The title of this chapter comes from the song "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Riverdale. Just trying to write it better.

******************************************************************************

**_Chapter 4: Good Times Never Seemed So Good_ **

**Oct 2007**   
**Riverdale, NY**

October was a busy time of the year for the Musketeers. Busier than Christmas, even.

Jughead and Betty both had their birthdays in the first half of the month, and their favorite holiday took place in the second half.

While Jughead never had a birthday party in his short six years of life, he didn't mind it. In fact, he preferred it that way. He tended to shy away from attention, unless it came from Betty or Archie. Or Archie's parents.

His sixth birthday passed by relatively uneventfully. His mom made his usual birthday breakfast and his dad gave him a new backpack for school he'd gotten at the Goodwill. It was secondhand, but it was green (his favorite color, just like Betty's eyes) and it still held up even when he stuffed eight storybooks inside to share with Betty during recess. Betty and Archie both gave him homemade birthday cards (Archie's was haphazardly drawn, with lots of sports stickers placed everywhere and a birthday greeting in Ms. Mary's neat handwriting; Betty's was covered in glitter and smelled a little like perfume, a tiny drawing of a cat at the bottom thanks to her recent obsession with kittens). His dad had taken Jughead and his best friends out to Pop's, where the friendly diner owner had given them all free cheeseburgers, fries and milkshakes as a special birthday treat.

After lunch at Pop's, FP had taken Jughead, Betty and Archie to Sweetwater, where they had happily played in the river despite the dropping temperature. They made believe they were pirates (the good kind) and saved imaginary damsels from the sea monster (played by Jughead's dad, who growled and roared and tackled and eventually flopped dramatically to his pretend death).

It was one of the best days of Jughead's life.

Jughead knew that he had a good life – better than some of the other kids at Sunnyside. A lot of it had to do with Betty and Archie. He didn't know what he would do if he didn't have his best friends.

For Betty's birthday, coming up just days after his own, Jughead wanted to give her something special, to thank her for being someone so important to him. He knew that he didn't have to overthink Archie's present – his friend was a simple boy; Jughead could get him a football for a present and Archie would consider it the best gift ever. Jughead kind of loved that about him.

But Betty was different. She deserved more than just any regular old thing he could find at the Goodwill. Jughead wanted to give her something no one else would have. There was a word for it, a word he had only just recently learned about – unique.

He had been thinking about what to get Betty since the summer started. Nothing had seemed right – too boring or too expensive – until he was sitting down for a microwave dinner back at the trailer as his birthday dwindled down.

His mind raced as he thought back to his time at the river with his best friends, their imagination running wild as they became pirates for an afternoon. A story began to form in his head, of a fearless pirate girl who braved the stormy seas and battled monstrous sea creatures in order to save damsels and find buried treasure. She had two sidekicks, a devoted knight who promised to marry her one day and a loyal friend who could turn into a red-furred retriever whenever he wanted.

Jughead scarfed down his dinner fast enough to almost give himself hiccups, and barely took the time to clean his plate before dashing towards his box of toys (where other little boys might have action figures and army men in their toy chest, Jughead had notebooks and twenty different storybooks). He took out a brand-new notebook he was supposed to use for math class and rummaged around his dad's drawer in the bedroom until he found a pen that wasn't running out of ink.

FP enjoyed seeing his kid so engrossed in something he enjoyed – and, from what he'd read over the boy's shoulder as he scribbled furiously day in and day out, his son had talent, too. Gladys was pissed when she figured out the story was meant to be a birthday present for Alice's daughter. FP kept her temper at bay, urging Jughead to continue writing because it was the first time he had ever seen his son so animated about anything. If Betty was the catalyst, he'd smuggle a damn kitten her way to say thank you.

By the time Betty's birthday rolled around, Jughead had finally completed his very first story.

He wasn't too sure he liked some of the middle, but he loved the ending and he was sure Betty would love it, too. A trip to the secondhand bookstore (where they also sold stationery on the cheap) had him binding the final draft of his very first manuscript with a pink plastic binder (he'd chosen the color specifically to please Betty, who was going through a very pink phase at the moment).

Betty's sixth birthday wasn't as happy as Jughead's.

The pageant was barely a month away, set the week before Thanksgiving. Alice was in full 'pageant mom' mode. She was the warden in Betty's prison at home, watching over what she ate, what she wore, how she walked and how much time she spent practicing her new skill to show off in front of the judges (gymnastics, as it turned out. Betty had taken to it like a pro, flipping and twirling and cartwheeling through the air. It was the only part of "pageant training" that she liked).

Betty was tired of the poise, the manners and the curtsying. All she wanted was to work on a car with her dad, get all greasy, spar with Jughead and FP and tuck into a shared plate of fries with her best friends.

The morning of her birthday, Betty tried running away to Sunnyside when she was informed by her mother that her birthday party was going to be attended by the other pageant girls in her age group. Alice had been fuming mad, grounding her for a week and confining her to her room. Betty was only to come out once it was time for the party.

Angered at her mother, Betty had hidden her dress (she had wanted to wear the blue one with sparkly stars on it, but her mother had insisted she wore a soft pink one instead), pretended to be asleep and hid under her bed for a good ten minutes. The promise of seeing Jughead and Archie at her party was the only way Alice could get Betty to cooperate long enough to style her hair into soft curls and put on the dress she hated.

Jughead and Archie came over early – FP, hungover and more than a little pissed by some of his fellow Serpents getting into trouble, wasn't in any mood to deal with Alice so he had dropped Jughead off early at the Andrews' house, speeding off back home to sleep off the next few hours. Jughead had carefully set aside his present for Betty before playing in the backyard with Archie, who'd cajoled him into a game of catch despite Jughead's protests (if it had been up to him, they'd just watch TV and eat some leftover spaghetti) until Mary had called them to get ready to go over next door a little early. She wanted to help Alice set up for the party.

Jughead eagerly grabbed his present for Betty, shoes and jacket on and waiting by the door on bouncing knees, impatiently staring as Mary and Archie moved at a too-slow pace.

"Come on," he urged them. "Betty's waiting."

Archie rolled his eyes. "Juggie, she doesn't know we're coming early," he tried to reason. "She'll be fine."

Jughead didn't care. He grabbed Archie by his free hand and almost dragged him to the Coopers' house next door. Betty's dad answered the door, an almost bored look on his face.

"Alice driving you crazy yet?" Mary laughed as she ushered the boys inside.

Hal rolled his eyes. "Since five in the morning," he confirmed. "Please. Get in there so I can get a few moments of peace."

While Mary went on ahead to help Alice get the living room set up, trays of catered food waiting to be set up on the makeshift table to the side, Jughead and Archie raced up the stairs to make their way to Betty's room.

The familiar pink-themed bedroom had Jughead smiling as Betty opened the door for them. Archie shifted, uncomfortable being in a room so girlish, but Jughead happily climbed onto Betty's bouncy bed, shyly handing her his present. "Happy birthday, Betty," he smiled.

Betty, having been in a bad mood all morning thanks to her mom, lit up as she accepted the gift. "Wow, thanks Juggie," she beamed, reaching to lift the lid of the box.

Jughead stopped her. "Wait," he panicked. What if Betty didn't like what he gave her? What if she thought it was lame? What if she hated the story? "Can you open it when you're alone? Please?"

She frowned at him, concerned. The anxious look in his eyes made her agree. "Sure, Jug," she promised. "Whatever it is, I'll love it, okay?"

"Really?" he asked, doubtful.

"Really," she promised. "I'll open it after the party."

Archie, not wanting to be left out, thrust a clumsily wrapped package into Betty's hands. "My mom helped me pick it out," he admitted shyly. "Happy birthday!"

"Aw, thanks, Arch," Betty raised an eyebrow, asking if she could open his gift. Archie shrugged and Betty reached into the colorful paper bag to pull out a set of colorful bandanas. "You know, cuz you always wear them when you hang out with your dad in the garage. Mom said you'd probably like a few more."

Betty grinned at him, hopping off the bed to give him a hug. "Thanks, Archie. I love them," she said honestly. "I'll thank your mom, too."

Jughead felt a burning in his belly, jealousy sizzling in his bones. He hated the thought that she might like Archie's present better than his, and he hated that she was hugging him thank you instead of Jughead. His jealousy flitted away when Betty turned to him and wrapped him up in a hug, too.

"Thanks for coming to my party," Betty beamed at them both.

"Of course, Betts," Jughead hugged her back, the fire in his veins slowly fading away, soothed by her touch.

The other party guests, the ones Betty didn't care for, started showing up not too long after. Alice took her by the hand, forcing her to greet each and every one of them, thanking them for coming, thanking them for impersonal presents. She did it without much protest, knowing that a Cooper always held her head up high, keeping her cool, in public.

Some of the pageant girls wanted to play tea party. Hal brought out a pinata and a plastic bat that even Betty had to agree was fun. Chuck made fun of Jughead's worn sneakers when they all had a race outside, and Betty tackled him into a muddy puddle in revenge (she had to change into another dress and chose the sparkly blue one she'd wanted to wear in the first place, happy despite Alice's hushed anger as she helped her change without getting mud everywhere. The bonus was that Chuck, upset, cold and shivering, had to leave the party early so he could shower the mud off himself).

Everyone had to sing 'Happy Birthday' to her when it was time for cake. Betty cut Jughead, Archie and Mary extra large slices, giving Jughead two of them.

When everyone was finally gone, Jughead and Archie the last to leave, Betty climbed into bed, freshly showered and clutching onto Jughead's gift box. She lifted the lid and peered inside, curiosity flaring up at the pages held together with a plastic pink binder. The cover was made up of a drawing in Jughead's style (he was the most artistic one out of the Musketeers, drawing better than any other kid Betty had ever come across), with a brave looking blonde pirate looking out in the distance. There was a sword on her hip and a cat on her shoulder, instead of a parrot. To her right, a lanky, tall, black-haired pirate stood protectively over her, a gold-tipped crown slanted on his head. To her left, a ginger-furred dog smiled, a football crushed beneath one large paw.

Above the picture of the three were the words 'The Pirate Warriors' and, in smaller letters below the drawing, 'A story by Jughead Jones'.

She also recognized his handwriting, jagged and pretty despite what the teachers said. Smiling in wonderment, Betty gingerly lifted the bound pages from the box and flipped open to the first page. The words were handwritten, just as the cover had been, and they captivated her from the very beginning.

Her exhaustion from the party that she never wanted was shoved to the side, sleep a lost concept, as she absorbed every word he had written just for her. The pirate warrior, the blonde girl, was clearly a character he'd created based off of Betty. But she was fierce and strong and wonderful and beautiful and kind and daring, all the things she wanted to be.

Jughead had written fifteen pages of her adventures with her pirate friends, storming the seas and fighting off sea monsters, and she _loved_ that the pirate warrior, named Ellie, even got to steal some treasure by the end of it.

Betty stared at the final words of the final page, awed, and began to read again from the very first page, enraptured. She was startled out of her thoughts when her mother came through her bedroom door, bleary-eyed and annoyed.

"Elizabeth, it is two in the morning," Alice chided. "Whatever you're doing, put it away and go to sleep. You're wasting electricity and you're disrupting your sleep pattern. Stop it now."

Making a face at her mother's back when Alice turned to switch off the light and exit the room, Betty carefully placed the pages back into the box, closing the lid and setting it aside so she could read it again in the morning.

It was by chance that, when she was woken up by her mother just a few hours later ("It's your own fault that you didn't get enough sleep, Elizabeth. I will not allow you to slip into unhealthy sleeping patterns. Get up and get in the shower. Now!"), she looked out of her window as she stretched and caught sight of Jughead, giggling wildly as he jumped around Archie's bedroom with their shared best friend, black hair flopping about everywhere as they shot at each other with water guns.

Grinning, Betty threw back the covers, showered as quickly as she could and changed into her favorite overalls with the daisies on the pantlegs. Barely stopping to greet her parents and sister good morning, Betty rushed out of the house and dashed across her backyard and into the Andrews'.

"Betty!" Archie saw her first, Jughead's back facing the door of Archie's room. Still grinning hard from his playtime with Jughead, water gun in hand, he invited her in, "Wanna play? I've got another gun over there."

Betty ignored him for a minute, slamming into Jughead just as he turned to greet her, catching him off guard until he was toppling backwards onto Archie's carpet-covered floor.

"Oof," Jughead let out a breath of surprise, eyes growing wide at the sudden attack. "Betty? What…?"

"I love my present, Jug," she told him excitedly, pulling back to smile at him, kneeing him painfully in the stomach as she struggled to sit up.

Barely registering the pain, Jughead grinned back at her. "Really? You do?" he asked, thrilled.

Betty nodded eagerly. "Juggie, you should write more," she urged him.

Archie stared at them. "You wrote something?" he asked Jughead, curious.

Blushing from the tip of his ears straight down to his neck, Jughead shrugged. "I wrote a little story," he mumbled quietly.

"Really?" Archie flopped down onto his bed, watching them with bright blue eyes. "What's the story about?"

Jughead coughed a little to hide his reply, "Pirates."

Archie's eyes lit up. "Cool," he decided. "Can I read it?"

"No!" Jughead almost shouted. At the hurt look in his best friend's eyes, he instantly regretted it. He didn't want to hurt Archie, but it took a lot for him to show what he'd written to Betty. He didn't want anyone else to read it.

Betty, understanding him without having to be told how he really felt, like always, gave Archie a sweet smile, automatically slipping into the role of mediator, "It's a story just for me, Arch. Maybe next time, Jug can write you a story of your own and _I_ won't be able to read it."

Hurt feelings immediately forgotten, Archie pursed his lips and nodded. "It has to be about football," he declared.

Jughead rolled his eyes. "Sure, Arch," he agreed easily – anything to ensure no one else would read his story for Betty but Betty herself.

Later, soaked from their water fight, seated on Archie's kitchen floor and devouring sandwiches with her two best friends, Betty leaned over to whisper to Jughead while the redhead was busy playing tug-of-war with Vegas.

"You really should write more, Jug," she encouraged, smiling in an effort to erase the uncertainty in his eyes. "Your story was amazing."

"Do you really think that?" Jughead asked, voice small.

Betty nodded. "You're the best storyteller I know," she squeezed his hand, feeling the fist relax under the pressure. "Even better than the Baxter Brothers."

He laughed, eyes bright even as he called her out on it, "Liar!"

Jughead pressed his fingers to her ribs and gave a light push, giggling with her when she pushed him back. Archie, pulled in by the sound of their laughter, almost tackled them as he joined in, the three of them wriggling on the floor, laughing madly when Vegas decided to join in, jumping on top of them, tail wagging and barking happily as he licked them in a show of love.

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**31st Oct 2007**   
**Riverdale, NY**

Archie will never understand why, but Halloween was a bigger deal to his two best friends than Christmas.

He had to admit, though, that it was a lot of fun – they got to dress up in silly costumes, go out together for Trick-or-Treating, and end the night as they always did at Pop's, where the friendly diner owner would serve them Halloween-themed food (burgers shaped like Jack-O-Lanterns and green milkshakes with chocolate spiderwebs on the top).

He wasn't as obsessed about Halloween as Betty and Jughead, though. He preferred Christmas, where it was like a second birthday, getting presents from everyone.

Betty and Jughead _loved_ Halloween, especially choosing their costumes. It was the first Halloween that they were given any choice (last year, if Betty remembered correctly, her mom had dressed her up as a princess, like thirty other girls in their neighborhood). Betty had been thinking about what to dress up for Halloween since summer and, by the beginning of the fall, she had made her choice.

So, on the last day of October, Betty slipped into her Nancy Drew outfit, sweater vest and plaid skirt in full vintage glory. She liked the way it looked so much that she wanted to dress up like Nancy Drew every day. Pumpkin-shaped trick-or-treat basket in one hand and a magnifying glass in the other, Betty trudged along Elm Street in between Jughead and Archie, Fred two feet behind them as he watched them with a keen eye.

Betty looked over at Archie, who had dressed up in his football uniform and called it a costume. Rolling her eyes at his unimaginative nature, she turned to look at Jughead instead. He had decided to go as Sherlock Holmes. Archie's mom had helped him put his costume together, even sewing his detective's jacket and matching hat to complete the look. He looked really cute and Betty told him so, watching in fascination as his cheeks turned a deep purple as he mumbled a compliment about her hair being pretty.

Fred, overhearing them, pressed a fist to his mouth to stifle his laughter. He'd have to tell Mary later about the nightmare Alice Cooper was going to have one day, having a Jones as a son-in-law.

Riverdale has an annual Halloween carnival, held at the town square. The Musketeers had never been allowed to go before because they were too young and Alice and Mary thought they'd get nightmares, but this year, after they begged their parents for months on end, Fred had coerced them into letting him take the three kids to the carnival. He promised to only allow them to go for the less-scary, six-year-old-appropriate activities available there.

They hit eighteen different houses from the Andrews' home to the carnival. By the time they got there, Fred's truck parked in the lot nearby earlier in the day, their treat baskets were filled to the brim with candy.

Fred took them to his truck first where they stowed away their treats. Archie really had to pee and Jughead was "starving", so Fred took them to the bathroom and treated them to hotdogs and funnel cakes (not the healthiest but the best he could do at a carnival). Betty tagged along, uncaring about bathroom breaks or food (sometimes, Fred worried about her. She rarely ate. He'd seen her give almost her entire share of food to Jughead, eating only one or two bites herself at every meal. Whenever he'd mentioned it to Mary, his wife would just mutter angrily under her breath, the only words he could make out were 'Alice' and a few choice curse words that would make sailors blush red).

Betty did, however, get excited over the haunted house at the carnival. Jughead followed along, always ready to be a part of whatever new adventure Betty wanted to go through. Archie was a little nervous but Fred watched with a fond smile as Jughead took his hand and gave him courage, leading him through the haunted house. Betty hadn't even noticed Archie's fear, too enthralled by the teenagers wearing scary masks jumping out at every turn, but Jughead had and was being supportive without embarrassing Archie. Fred didn't know if he had the right, but he was proud of the boy.

Once the three kids had managed to get to the end of the haunted house, Fred led them back to the car. They stopped at a few booths along the way – Betty won Jughead a toy snake, green with googly eyes and a purple tongue (Fred was sure FP would get a kick out of that) and a fortune teller told Archie he would fall in love with an exotic princess one day – but eventually the three kids piled into the truck, exhausted and falling asleep against each other as he drove them back to Elm.

Mary met him outside when he pulled in. FP and Gladys were working, as always, though Fred wanted to know less and less about what exactly they were working on as the days passed. Alice and Hal were both attending a journalism conference in Rhode Island. Betty and Jughead, as a result, were spending the night sleeping over with Archie. Mary helped to carry Betty inside while Fred hauled Jughead and Archie into his arms, both of them snoring in his ear.

Once the kids were asleep, Fred snuggled up on the couch with his sneaky wife, already rooting through the kids' candy stash for the good stuff. He chuckled, accepting a Snickers bar as the Shining flashed on the TV screen.

"Was it fun tonight?" Mary asked, head against his chest as she absentmindedly watched the movie together.

He carded his fingers through her red hair, sighing contentedly. "Yeah, it was fun. Apparently, according to Miss Fortuna, Archie's going to marry royalty one day."

Mary laughed. "Well, I believe it," she joked. "He's a charmer."

"Speaking of charming," Fred grinned. "I'm pretty sure Betty and Jughead are going to drive Alice nuts one day."

"Oh, I already knew that," Mary smiled. "I can't wait for them to give her a little bit of karma ass-kicking."

"Well, well, Mary Andrews. Who knew you were so evil?" Fred teased.

"Shut up," she slapped him playfully on the arm, reaching for another handful of popcorn.

Fred exhaled, content to hold his wife and watch Jack Nicholson be creepy on screen, his eyes slowly sliding shut as the exhaustion of taking care of three excitable kids by himself for four long hours took over.

Over by the banister, Betty and Jughead peeked through the slits, eyes riveted to the TV screen. "We are gonna get in trouble if we get caught," Jughead whispered to Betty.

She had been startled awake by the sudden need to pee, and had caught the sound of the TV on the way back to Archie's room. Seeing the horror movie on (something she had never been allowed to watch before), she had gleefully dashed back to Jughead and Archie to wake them up. Archie slept like the dead so he hadn't woken up at all, only snorted loudly, turned over and snored into his pillow. Jughead had shot up, the lightest sleeper Betty had ever known.

"Come on," Betty had urged him. "There's a horror movie playing on TV. If we're really quiet, we can watch it without Archie's parents knowing."

Jughead had gently lifted Archie's head and shifted him so that his cheek laid on his pillow instead, worried that he would suffocate with his mouth and nose pressed into the mattress, before rushing out of the room after Betty.

As they laid over the carpet at the top of the stairs, peering through the slits of the banister, watching their first ever horror movie, Betty and Jughead discovered their newfound love for all things morbid and macabre, enthralled by the movie.

They had to make a mad, but quiet, dash back to Archie's room when Mary turned off the TV, shaking her husband awake so they could get upstairs and into their own bed. Diving under the covers of Archie's bed, where they squished together on top of their still-sleeping friend, Betty and Jughead pressed their hands to their mouths, stifling giggles as Fred checked in on them before shuffling off to his room, yawning loudly.

Sharing a look over Archie's wild mop of red hair, Betty and Jughead reached the silent agreement that Halloween was officially the best holiday of the year.

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**Betty and Jughead's love of the macabre…Even at a young age. Anybody else had a huge crush on Morticia Adams? Because I sure did as a kid. Is that weird?**

**Please leave me a review to let me know what you think of this chapter. It would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you to those of you who left me reviews for the previous chapters. It's been deeply encouraging.**


	5. To Face Unafraid the Plans that We Made

**Chapter 5: To Face Unafraid the Plans that We Made**

**A/N:** I'm so sorry this took so long! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please leave a review even if you don't. Thanks so much to those of you who have.

The chapter title comes from the song Winter Wonderland by Ella Fitzgerald.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything Riverdale related.

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**_Dec 2007_ **   
**_Riverdale, NY_ **

Betty had known what she was getting Jughead for Christmas since her birthday.

He had an amazing talent with words. She had read and reread the story he'd written for her a thousand times since he'd gifted it to her (in her defense, no one had ever turned her into a heroine before). She began to notice more and more how much he enjoyed reading and how creative he gets when they played make believe with Archie.

"You should write more, Juggie," she would encourage, and he would blush, shrugging noncommittally and that would be that.

It was as though he didn't believe her words, didn't believe that he was really special. But she wanted him to believe it because it was the truth and he deserved to know that.

So, two weeks before Christmas, as Betty trudged alongside her mother for their last-minute shopping, she held onto her Mulan purse tightly, aware of her hard-earned money jingling inside. Polly caught her action and rolled her eyes, teasing her yet again, "Buying something big for your boyfriend?"

Betty scowled at her, blushing bright red as she always did whenever Polly called Jughead that. "Shut up, Polly!" she retorted, her voice carrying over to her mother who turned back to glare at her for using such language.

Betty's Christmas money was something she had saved up for. She and Jughead had opened up a lemonade stand during the summer (Archie tried to help but he wasn't very good at paying attention and, frankly, he was a little too clumsy, knocking over two pitchers of lemonade before Betty had forbidden him from coming near their little makeshift stall outside the Andrews' home), and Betty had saved up every penny. She hadn't had any goal in mind then, but now she was glad she hadn't spent any of the money.

After getting some (extremely boring, in Betty's opinion) engraved bathrobes for Fred and Mary, Alice took Polly by the hand, urging her younger daughter to take her sister's hand, and led them to The Green Paperback. Betty ignored Polly as she grumbled and whined about being hungry, even ignored her mother as she sighed and tapped her watch, reminding her for the hundredth time to, "Be quick, Elizabeth. We'll be late for dinner."

Betty took her time, choosing Jughead's presents carefully. She calculated how much each item cost in her mind to make sure she had enough lemonade-stand-money to buy them all. The cashier at the till helped Betty to box up her purchases, adding a ribbon bow to the top of the lid and wishing her a merry Christmas once she was done.

"Thank you!" Betty beamed at her. "Merry Christmas!"

She held her precious cargo, heart racing at the thought of Jughead opening his new present on Christmas Eve. She hoped he would like it.

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Christmas Eve was as hectic as her birthday had been, maybe even worse. But Betty wasn't upset about it this time – there were no crazy pageant girls for her to deal with, after all.

As was tradition for the past three years since the Cooper family moved next door to the Andrews', Betty, Jughead and Archie spent Christmas Eve together at Archie's house.

FP had to go to a Serpent Christmas party, held at Michael's house, and as he passed by Alice in Fred's kitchen, she averted her eyes, knowing exactly where he was headed to and feeling just a tad nostalgic over it. He shook his head at the lengths she would go to just to cut out a part of her life she was ashamed of for no reason.

He kissed his son on his unruly mop of raven curls. "I'll be back in the morning to pick you up, okay?" he smiled at his son, who nodded absentmindedly, focus solely on the TV screen.

Jughead, Betty and Archie were watching Home Alone, a tradition for the three kiddos that none of them could part with. Betty was giggling madly at the hilarity happening on screen despite having seen it a hundred times, Jughead breaking a little out of his shell to laugh along with her and Archie. Feeling grateful for her presence in his son's life, FP kissed her on her soft blonde hair, too, feeling his heart clench when sparkling green eyes slid up to look at him, Alice's smile on that little girl's face.

He clapped Fred on the back, wishing him a Merry Christmas, before slipping out the door. He'd already had two servings of Mary's amazing food, but he knew he could eat three more rounds at the Smith house later on – just a perk of being a Jones.

Jughead always spent Christmas Eve with Archie's family since FP had to attend the Serpents' Christmas. Before Alice had returned to Riverdale and became Fred's neighbor, Gladys always picked Jughead up at the end of the night, having drank a little less than FP at the party. However, since Alice had made her triumphant return a little over three years ago, Gladys had avoided the Northside like the plague, refusing to even attend Jughead's school plays or fairs, leaving it all up to FP. As a result, the past three Christmases, Jughead had spent Christmas Eve sleeping over at Archie's, FP coming over to get him first thing in the morning. Jughead didn't seem to mind it, loving spending his nights with his best friends, but FP always felt guilty. Nothing he ever said could change Gladys' mind, however, and nothing he ever did could keep him from the bottle at the party.

Sighing a little as he straddled his bike, FP squeezed his eyes shut, making yet another promise to himself to do better next year. He wouldn't be a drunk next Christmas. He'd start abstaining come New Year – after the party at the Wyrm to ring it in, of course. What was one more week, after all?

Throwing one last look at his best friend's house, FP put on his helmet and revved up the engine. One more week, and he was going to be the father his son deserved, he promised himself.

Once they were done watching the movie, Betty, Jughead and Archie went out to the backyard, shrieking as they chased each other across the yard and up to their treehouse.

"Kids, careful!" Mary called out to them, smiling fondly after them. "Come back inside after you exchange presents, okay?"

"Okay, Mom!" Archie replied for all three of them, climbing the ladder up to their treehouse after Betty and Jughead.

The three of them flopped down onto the soft rug on the wooden floor of the treehouse, their presents for each other stashed there earlier by Fred.

Grinning wildly, they handed their presents over to each other, receiving two in return.

Betty didn't touch her presents, eagerly watching as Jughead tore into his. Archie had gotten Jughead his own water gun, and Jughead hugged him in gratitude, promising to play once they returned to the house and filled up the gun. Jughead reached for her present next, lifting the box to peer inside. Eyes growing wide, Jughead pulled out the brand-new pens, still in their packaging, all different colors. There were even notebooks, five of them, with swirling designs on the cover. They were new, too. Jughead had gotten notebooks and drawing pads before, but they were usually second-hand, with pages that were already filed up and had to be torn away.

"Wow, Betty," he whispered, awed, his eyes flicking up to meet hers. "They're awesome!"

Betty grinned, relieved. "Do you like them?" she asked nervously. "You can use them to write more stories."

Jughead gently placed the box down, rocking forwards on his knees to wrap Betty in a tight hug. "I love them," he assured her. "Thanks, Betty. I'll write all the time, I promise."

Betty closed her eyes, hugging him back and feeling warm all over, "You're welcome, Juggie."

Just as Jughead had promised Archie, the three of them chased each other across the Andrews' backyard, playing with water guns while Betty and Archie's parents wound down the night.

Finally, just when they were drooping with exhaustion, Hal scooped Betty up into his arms, separating her from her two best friends who were asleep on the living room couch. "C'mon, sweetheart," he patted her back. "It's time to go home."

"No," Betty whined, struggling weakly against her father's hold. "I wanna stay here with Jug and Archie!"

"You'll see them tomorrow morning," Hal promised.

"Before Juggie leaves?" Betty yawned, rubbing her nose into his shoulder.

"Yeah, we'll come over first thing in the morning. Okay?"

Betty snored into his ear, her answer to his placating question. Grinning, Hal hoisted her further up in his arms, walking out with Alice and Polly as they said their goodbyes to Fred and Mary.

Alice and Hal settled the girls into bed, with Alice having to spend a little extra time with Polly, braiding her hair because she wanted to have curls but wasn't naturally gifted with them like Betty was. Preempting a meltdown she could just envision happening on Christmas morning when they had to get ready, Alice twisted her elder daughter's hair into a loose braid to give her straight-as-an-arrow hair some volume.

While Alice took care of the girls, Hal made his way down to the basement. Betty's present, blackmailed as payment for taking part in that year's pageant a month ago, was curled up on the ratty old couch they had stowed away there. At the sound of Hal's footsteps, the little kitten perked up, stretching its body and digging its claws into the couch cushion.

Jumping off its temporary bed, it stumbled a little on unsteady legs and padded over to Hal. He grabbed the bag of cat food they'd gotten at the pet store after going to the shelter to pick up the cream-and-orange colored kitten. Shaking out enough for the newest addition to the Cooper family, Hal crouched down to place the food bowl on the ground. The kitten dived in immediately, ravenous.

Hal watched it eat for a moment, its enthusiastic chewing echoing in the empty basement. He ran a hand down the cat's back, fur tickling his palm. He could feel its soft bones under his fingertips, could feel the shape of its spine shifting as it almost vibrated in ecstasy at feeding time. The kitten looked up at him, mouth working furiously as it chewed, bright feline eyes boring into him for a long moment. Hal stared back, thinking back to his first pet. He wondered if Betty would feel the same for this cat as he had felt for his own puppy way back in the day. He wondered if this cat's story would end the same way Buster's had.

"Hal?"

He blinked, startled out of his fond memories by the sound of his wife's tired voice. He looked up, seeing Alice standing at the top of the stairs leading down to the basement.

"Everything okay in here?" Alice asked, frowning slightly. She hadn't been happy to hold up her end of the deal, but Betty had been adamant against the pageant until Alice had agreed to a kitten for a Christmas present, and Hal had backed her up, saying it would be good for Betty to have a pet. "That thing didn't pee anywhere, did it?"

"Nah, he did okay," Hal reassured her, giving her a smile. "I'll be right on up."

"Okay," Alice sighed, ducking out of the basement door.

Hal stroked the cat from between the ears all the way down to its fluffy tail one more time, a sort of anticipation building in his chest. Standing up, he left the kitten to its meal and headed up the stairs, ready for a few hours of sleep before 'Santa' had to make his appearance in the morning.

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"What do you think I should name him?" Betty asked, the grin on her face a permanent fixture ever since her parents had brought out the fluffy kitten early in the morning. She had been waiting for her very own cat for so long that she had been doubtful she'd ever get one, despite the deal she'd struck with her mom months ago. Now that her kitten was here, real and alive and busy leaping after a feather toy Betty shook in front of him, she could barely tear her eyes away from him.

"Caramel," Jughead replied instantly, the cat's fur reminding him of one of his favorite treats to have.

Betty beamed at him. "Caramel," she giggled. "I like it. Caramel! Caramel, come here, boy!"

The kitten rolled onto his belly, wide eyes staring up at her curiously for a moment. "Is that your name, Caramel?" Betty cooed at him, heart melting when he flipped back onto all fours and padded over to her, climbing into her lap for a cuddle. "Aww, I love you so much, Caramel!"

Jughead grinned. "I think he likes his name," he told her, a little proud, as he reached over to rub the kitten between the ears. Caramel closed his eyes, purring loudly at the soft touch. Betty and Jughead giggled at the funny sound.

Archie threw himself on the ground in front of them, splaying his arms and legs wide as he peered into the kitten's eyes. "You wanna go play chase with Vegas, kitten?" he urged.

"His name is Caramel," Betty informed him.

Archie grinned. "Jug named him, huh?" he guessed correctly, laughing when Jughead reached out to shove him playfully.

Vegas, still cautious around the new, tiny creature, practically belly crawled forwards, dropping down with his head pressed to the ground, large, puppy dog eyes trained on Caramel. He whined, wanting to play but afraid he'd scare the kitten.

Caramel meowed in greeting, ambling down Betty's lap and slowly making his way to Vegas. He sniffed tentatively, reaching one paw out to tap against Vegas'. When the dog merely looked at him, Caramel got braver, inching closer and closer. He threw himself at Vegas' side in a sudden burst of energy, meowing wildly when Vegas merely licked him in response. Calming down, Caramel snuggled into Vegas' larger body, curling his tail in as he decided to go for a nap.

"Aww, that's so cute!" Betty gushed. "Archie, I think your dog and my kitten are gonna be best friends!"

Archie wrinkled his nose. "Maybe they're gonna get married," he suggested, getting worked up at the thought. "Betty, we could be in-laws!" he gripped her arm excitedly, using the new word he'd just learned about.

Jughead shot his friend a look. "I don't think that's how it works," he shook his head, patting him on the shoulder consolingly.

Jughead's words fell on deaf ears. As his father pulled up in his truck (a little too unsteady yet to handle his bike), Jughead attended the wedding of Vegas Andrews and Caramel Cooper in Archie's backyard.

Betty tied a doily over Caramel's ears, acting as a veil, and Archie needed his dad to help him tie Fred's bowtie around Vegas' neck.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Jughead intoned, addressing the slew of stuffed animals Betty had lined up on the Andrews' back porch. Fred, having garnered an invite to this exclusive, last minute wedding, stifled a grin as he recorded it. Remembering the words spoken by the minister at his neighbor's daughter's wedding he'd gone to just a few weeks ago, Jughead recited from memory, "We are gathered here today to join Vegas and Caramel in holy matrix money."

Betty beamed at him from her spot next to Caramel and Jughead stood a little taller, happy to be a part of such a momentous occasion.

"Vegas, do you take Caramel to be your spouse?"

Vegas barked at the sound of his name, immediately distracted after by a squirrel darting up a tree. Jughead waited while Archie tempted Vegas back to the ceremony (he tried toys but that had only distracted Vegas more; he'd had to sneak some treats for Vegas from the house while the grown-ups continued their conversation in the kitchen) before continuing his speech.

"Caramel, do you take Vegas to be your spouse?"

Caramel ignored him, focused on licking the fur of his paw.

"I now announce you Dog and Kitten. You may kiss your bride."

Betty and Archie shared a confused look.

"Who's the bride?" Archie whispered not-so-quietly.

Jughead shrugged, eyes wide.

"No one," Betty answered primly, proving yet again that girls were always cleverer than boys. "Caramel and Vegas are both boys. They're both husbands."

Betty crouched down next to her beloved new cat and picked him up, holding him out to Vegas for a kiss. Vegas stared blankly at the kitten presented to him. Caramel's tongue darted out to swipe across Vegas' nose.

"I guess that means they're husbands now," Jughead declared.

Betty whooped with joy, high-fiving Archie and pulling Jughead into a hug. "Yay! Congratulations, Vegas and Caramel!" she beamed at her kitten, cuddling him close.

Her enthusiasm was catching and, soon, all three of them were jumping around the backyard, uncaring about the cold or the snow, happiness bubbling over. Caramel looked mildly alarmed at the jostling movement, but Vegas barked happily, leaping up and down to celebrate with them.

"What the hell are those three doing now?" Alice muttered, rolling her eyes as she caught sight of her daughter and the two hooligans she insisted on calling her best friends.

Mary peered out into the backyard and smiled at the three jumping beans, bringing her oversized mug of chamomile tea up for a long sip.

"Oh, let them be, Alice," she sighed. "They're just having fun."

Alice glared at Mary's nonchalance, reminding herself to have yet _another_ talk with Betty later about reigning in all that energy and attempting to be just a tad more ladylike.

FP squinted his eyes in Alice's direction, a wry grin on his face as he gratefully poured himself another cup of Fred's freshly made coffee (Fred had worked at Pop's before taking his place in the family business ages ago – he still made the finest cup of coffee in town, as far as FP was concerned).

"You've got the same look on your face as you did back when you set that dumpster on fire," he told Alice, not sober enough to realize he was entering hostile territory. "Like you wanna prove something and defy everyone."

Eyes wide at the casual toss of her sordid past into open conversation, even if the people they were surrounded by knew of it, Alice turned her gaze on FP, eyes hard and angered. "FP Jones," she gritted out. "Shut the hell up. Betty could hear."

"Betty's enjoying life outside, Ali," FP placed the mug down on the counter, sliding his forearms on the marble top and resting his weight on them, his upper body leaning in close across to Alice. "She doesn't care."

He kept his eyes on her, loving the flush of her skin (anger had always turned her this shade of pink that he'd adored since they were barely through puberty) and the shape of her lips as she pursed them, his heartbeat racing at the sight of her.

The sound of a throat clearing had the two of them tearing their gazes away from each other, only to catch Mary's knowing, amused gaze.

"Should I leave the two of you alone?" she asked, only half jesting.

Alice's spine stiffened, her glare returning only to focus on both FP and Mary.

"Don't be ridiculous," she snapped at her neighbor. Hopping off the bar stool, she reached for her purse. "I need to get Betty – we need to get back home. Polly's probably driven Hal insane by now."

"Betty can stay here for a little while longer," Mary immediately suggested, side-eyeing FP. She knew her husband's best friend since early childhood was more than likely going to end up passed out on the couch for a few hours to sleep off his hangover. While Jughead would have his fun with Archie, there was no doubt that he would love having Betty around more. Poor boy was just more comfortable if both of his best friends were around, balancing each other out. "It's no problem."

"No, no, it's fine," Alice smiled tightly. "I need to bring Betty and that damn cat home and show her what to do to take care of it – it'll teach her some responsibility. Hal and I even held off on taking the cat for shots until Betty could be there, too. We're going tomorrow once the vet reopens."

"Ooh," Mary winced in sympathy. "She won't like that."

Alice huffed. "She should have thought about that before asking for a pet," she said firmly.

"Technically, it was more like blackmail," FP boasted to Mary, feeling the need to defend the little girl he'd grown to love almost as much as his son did. "You should've seen it. It was beautiful."

Alice glared at him. "Don't think I don't know it was you who taught her what blackmail is, FP," she warned.

FP didn't bother to reply with words, giving her a roguish grin that had fire sizzling down her spine instead.

"Give the girl a break, Alice," Mary sighed. "She really hated the pageant. She deserved a present for going through with it."

"Thank God that whole nonsense is over," FP shook his head. "Mark my words – breeding grounds for pedophiles."

"That's nice, FP," Alice glowered at him. "You think I'd put my own kid at risk? And, by the way, Betty probably hated the pageant because she picked up on all of your negativity."

"Or she's just not into twirling around on stage like an airhead," FP suggested dryly.

"There's more to pageantry that that. And Betty will like it next year."

FP stared at her for a long moment. "You've gotta be kidding me," he shook his head at her. "You had to bribe her with Jughead the first time. A month ago, you had to bribe her with a cat. What's it gonna be next year? A pony?"

"I resent the implication that I can't control my own child," Alice sniffed.

FP looked at her suspiciously with slanted eyes. "Are you high?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Well!" Fred interrupted their little standoff.

FP and Alice, snapped out of their spat, turned to look at Fred as he came in through the the back door. "You and I are in-laws now, Alice," Fred announced, amusement fading as he took in the chilly atmosphere. "Did I interrupt something?"

Mary sighed, feeling like her husband had just bothered her in the middle of one of her shows. "Nothing important," she half lied. "What did you mean we're in-laws? Did Betty and Archie pretend to get married out there?"

Fred let out a loud belly laugh at that. "God, could you imagine? Betty would sooner punch Archie than marry him," he shook his head fondly. His son did have a tendency to irritate the little blonde girl. Jughead often had to play peacekeeper between them.

"True. Besides, if anyone's gonna get married to each other, it'll be Betty and Jughead," Mary teased, causing Alice to roll her eyes.

"Vegas and Betty's new kitten got hitched," Fred informed them, showing them the picture he'd taken of the newly married couple, their three human family members hugging around them with huge smiles on their faces. "Touching ceremony – Jughead officiated."

FP snorted, loving the carefree grin on his boy's face in the wedding picture. "Send me that, would ya?"

Fred clapped him on the shoulder, fingers already flying over his phone to send it to his friend (and to Alice, because she deserved to see what her daughter looked like when she was happy).

"Oh, for God's sake," Alice muttered, pulling the black door open and calling for Betty to come in. Betty came running in, Caramel in her arms. Jughead ran in after her and Archie ran in after him, Vegas hot on his heels, barking happily. "Betty, say thank you to Ms. Mary and Mr. Fred. We have to go home now."

Betty's face fell. "Now?" she asked her mother, dismay clear on her face and in her voice. "But…Caramel just got married."

"Caramel?" Alice rolled her eyes as Jughead shuffled a little closer to Betty. She'd bet her entire shoe collection the food-obsessed Jones boy had a hand in naming that poor creature. "Right. Well, Caramel is currently licking his butt. He doesn't care about the honeymoon. Come on, Betty. Hurry."

Betty stared up at her mother with wide doe eyes. "Mommy, I wanna stay here," she said, feeling the edges of her lips pull up into a smile when Caramel bumped his nose against her cheek, furry body squirming closer.

"Christmas is time for family, Betty," Alice reached out to smooth back some flyaway hair behind Betty's ear. "We have to go back and spend some time with Polly and your dad, okay?"

"But Jug and Archie and Vegas and Caramel and FP and Mr. Fred and Ms. Mary are family, too," Betty argued. "I wanna stay."

Alice leveled her younger daughter with a stern look. "Betty, please, no arguments. Go and get all the cat stuff you insisted on bringing with you," she instructed firmly. "We should go home and feed Caramel."

Betty sighed. "Okay," she agreed reluctantly. "I guess I can't let him be hungry…"

"And later on, we can try the leotards we got for you," Alice suggested, putting on a cheerful voice to get Betty excited. It didn't work – her daughter deflated visibly, frowning at her mother. "Betty. No frowning."

Betty sighed, shoulders drooping a little. "I didn't want the leotards," she informed Alice. "I can't run in them."

"We said we'd try ballet for your next pageant talent show, remember?" Alice reminded Betty.

Betty gasped. "Mommy, no!" she protested, her voice reaching a high enough decibel to hurt Caramel's ears. Meowing loudly in protest, Caramel leapt from Betty's arms to curl up at Jughead's feet. Smiling, Jughead crouched down to gently pet him. "I don't want any more pageants."

"Betty," Alice sighed, glaring at FP when he coughed an 'I told you so' into a closed fist. "Please. Just get the cat and let's go. We'll talk about this at home."

Betty scowled (and was promptly told not to or her face would freeze that way forever) but she did as she was told. Jughead helped her to gather Caramel's things while Archie got all of the wedding guests from the back porch.

"I can't believe I have to enter another pageant," Betty told Jughead, urging Caramel back into her carrier.

"Well, maybe you should ask for a pony next year?" Jughead suggested, trying to find an upside.

Alice and FP overheard this little exchange. While FP grinned widely, trying hard not to laugh, Alice rolled her eyes. "You really are your father's son, aren't you?" she threw in Jughead's direction, shaking her head.

FP stood a little taller, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "And don't you forget it, boy," he ribbed good-naturedly, heart tripling in size at the adoring smile Jughead sent his way.

Jughead sighed as he stared after Betty, lugging her cat and her toys back to the house next door. He looked so forlorn that Archie took a break from playing with his army men, coming over to pat Jughead solemnly on the back.

"Do you wanna go play cops and robbers?" he asked Jughead, trying to cheer him up.

Jughead shrugged. "I guess," he said quietly, throwing a concerned look at his dad, who had already climbed onto the Andrews' living room couch, arm thrown over his eyes as he slipped into a much-needed nap.

"You go on ahead, boys," Fred encouraged them with a smile. "We'll call you back down when it's time for lunch, okay?"

Jughead gave Fred a small, shy smile and followed after Archie, running off upstairs to the redheaded boy's bedroom. Even as he indulged in Archie's strange rules for playing cops and robbers, Jughead's thoughts couldn't help but drift towards the blonde next door. He hoped Betty was okay and that she didn't argue too much with her mom – it was Christmas, after all. Hopefully having Caramel around would make Betty happy and keep her from being lonely when he and Archie couldn't be there to play with her.

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**Did anybody else get really creeped out when Hal was feeding Caramel? I creeped myself out writing it...**

**What did you think of this chapter? Basically a fluffy Christmas filler, but I hope you liked it still. Please leave a review to tell me what you thought of it.**

**Thanks so much!**

**Love,**

**Lorelai.**


	6. You Can Count on Me 'cuz I Can Count on You

**Chapter 6: You Can Count on Me ‘Cuz I Can Count on You**

**A/N:** Title of the chapter comes from the song ‘Count On Me’ by Bruno Mars.

**Disclaimer:** I don’t own anything Riverdale related.

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**June 2008**

**Riverdale, NY**

Summer came and Jughead had Betty and Archie over to Sunnyside for the first time in his life.

His mom was on bedrest – she had suffered a pretty serious fall at Pop’s while waitressing and the result was a badly sprained ankle, doctor’s orders to stay in bed with her foot elevated for a few weeks and her husband having to work twice as much as he usually did to earn a little extra cash while Gladys recuperated.

Jughead’s dad, too busy with his jobs at the construction company and a bar called ‘the Whyte Wyrm’, couldn’t find the time to take Jughead over to Archie’s house

Betty, being the rebel that she was, had grown tired of his absence and had dragged Archie to ride out to Sunnyside. They were, after all, just months away from turning seven years old. In the fall, they would even officially be grade schoolers. They couldn’t be more grown up if they tried.

FP hadn’t been as surprised as he should have been when he stepped out of his trailer to find two little kids dismounting from their brand-new bikes right outside the door. He could see the curious looks from his neighbors, gossipy ladies sitting together on deck chairs as they battled the already-present summer heat.

Sighing, FP glared as sternly as he could at the two. “You know you’re not supposed to come here,” he started.

Though Sunnyside was at the halfway point of the Northside and the Southside, it was dangerous enough for both Betty and Archie’s parents to agree that the kids shouldn’t go over to visit Jughead. FP had agreed – it was a miracle on its own that Alice allowed Jughead to hang around Betty, and he’d do everything he could to make sure he didn’t screw that up the way he’d screw things up with Alice back in the day. Jughead looked at little Betty like she hung the moon and had the ability to pluck the brightest star in the sky to light up his little world. _That_ was worth protecting, if anything ever was.

“Please, FP,” Betty said, voice as sweet as her smile and equally as genuine. God, did she inherit _anything_ from her parents? It was a question he’d wondered a lot the more time he spent around her. It had taken him _years_ to get her to call him just ‘FP’ instead of ‘Mr. FP’, as she felt it was too disrespectful to call him by his first name. Unlike Fred and Mary, who were too scared of Alice’s wrath should they influence her little girl to be less than perfect, FP couldn’t care less. The day she'd started calling him ‘FP’ was a victory in his book. “We just miss Juggie so much…I promise we won’t be any trouble.”

He checked his watch. Technically, he had to be at the construction site in twenty minutes. Maybe if he called and explained it to Fred, he could get in later without getting his pay docked.

“Okay, five minutes,” he warned them. “Then I’m taking you both home.”

He called out for Jughead to come out of the trailer, where he knew his son was re-reading one of his Baxter Brothers book. He had to hand it to his son – he was a reader faster than most other kids his age. FP wasn’t completely certain, but he was pretty sure Betty Cooper had something to do with it. Archie was slower than the both of them, but Betty had always influenced Jughead more than she did Archie, the two of them doing practically everything under the sun together. FP had encouraged it, seeing as Betty was the best influence Jughead could have. The fact that it got under Alice’s skin was just a side benefit he got to enjoy.

At the sight of his two best friends, Jughead’s gloomy countenance disappeared completely. He jumped down the steps of the trailer and launched himself at Betty and Archie, the three of them giggling wildly as they reunited. They hadn’t seen each other face-to-face since school ended two weeks ago thanks to Gladys being on bedrest and FP working enough double shifts that the little boy had to stay home with his mom to keep her company in case she needed anything and couldn’t move with her bad ankle, but they were reuniting as though it had been years apart.

Watching them with a fond smile playing on his lips, FP closed the door to the trailer so that their high-pitched laughter wouldn't wake Gladys from her pain-meds-induced nap, and walked just out of earshot to ring Fred up.

“Your kid and Betty are here at Sunnyside,” was the first thing he said when Fred answered the phone.

“What!?” Fred yelped, color draining from his face. If there was one thing that they both agreed on, it was that Alice’s wrath was something neither wanted to incur. “How did they even _get_ there?”

“They rode their bikes out,” FP ran his hand down his face. “Apparently, they’re getting a little more adventurous these days.”

Fred let out a little laugh. “Yeah, no kidding,” he agreed, hesitating. “FP…We’re short staffed here today. Three people out sick and Martin still hasn’t come back from paternity leave…”

FP felt a sudden burst of jealousy. If only he were privileged enough to apply for such a thing as paternity leave.

“I’ll come in,” he promised Fred, knowing his old friend was worried he’d call in sick to handle the situation. FP swallowed bitterly at the thought that he hadn’t been able to afford a sick day even once in his life, no matter how hungover he was. “I might be a little late. Gotta drop off Betty and Archie back at their houses.”

“No! Dad!” Jughead complained. FP started, swiveling around to find all three kids standing right behind him, eyes watery and expressions sunken. “Please, I haven’t seen them in forever!”

FP wanted to roll his eyes at the exaggeration, but he sympathized with his kid. Truth was, Jughead didn’t fit in well with the other kids at Sunnyside. He wasn’t as rough-and-tumble as they were, and they didn’t understand his fascination with reading and writing and mysteries. Honestly, as much as Alice made him want to strangle her most days, he would gladly face her just so his boy could have friends who understood him so well and allowed him to be himself. He knew that he and Gladys weren’t as great at parenting as he’d like them to be. He also knew that Jughead had to grow up fast thanks to them and if he could change that, he would. But the damage was done on that front. He was just glad Betty and Archie were there to give Jughead a semblance of a normal childhood whenever they could.

Fred, having heard their pleas over the phone, chuckled slightly. “I take it they’re not too happy about it?” he guessed.

“Not one bit,” FP gave the three kids a stern look. “What have I said about eavesdropping?” he asked, looking pointedly at Betty and Jughead. Those two had been caught listening in on conversations more times than he could count. (“We’re not _eavesdropping_ , we’re _sleuthing_ ,” Betty would argue. “Just like Tracy True and the Baxter Brothers,” Jughead would defend. God, they drove him nuts).

“Dad, please,” Jughead ignored his warning, tugging on his pant leg and giving him the most pathetic expression FP had ever seen on anyone. “ _Please_. Just one day.”

His heartstrings tugged despite his best efforts, FP sent them to play with the tire swings Old Man Ford had set up for the kids at the trailer park a few feet away. Once they were safely out of earshot, he brought the phone back to his ear. “Look, give me an hour, I’ll be at the site,” he promised in a low voice. “I just have to figure this out first.”

“Mary’s working from home all day today,” Fred suggested, bringing up the trio’s usual babysitter. “Bring those three to the house, FP. She’ll be more than happy to look after them, I promise.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, FP went to check on Gladys (still soundly sleeping) and relayed the good news to the Three Musketeers (“There were technically four Musketeers, Dad. It’s just not accurate,” Jughead showed off the newest word he’d learned). He needed to get someone to watch over the kids for a while as he had to get some supplies for Gladys before work at Wesson’s Groceries a few blocks away. Fortunately, Gladys’ brother Glenn lived just two trailers away. He was already at work down by the docks, but his wife Nora was at home (she worked the nightshifts at Pop’s). She agreed to look after Jughead, Betty and Archie while FP went to the grocery store, dragging a sullen Sweet Pea and his over-excitable little sister Angel along with her to the Jones’ trailer.

“Why can’t we go with you?” Jughead asked, anxious as he looked over at the angry-looking taller boy scowling just a few feet away. He liked going over to Wesson’s – the owner, Miss Kitty, always gave him a few candy bars for free to hide in his pockets, a wink and a whisper of, “Just between us,” always making him feel like he was holding onto the best secret in the world.

FP frowned, thinking back to Alice’s threats if Betty were to ever come across Southsiders, especially the people who had been closest to her when she was still Alice Smith, and shuddered slightly. “Aw, come on,” he chucked Jughead gently on the chin. “Don’t you want to introduce Sweet Pea and Angel to your friends?”

“No,” Jughead mumbled, casting his eyes downwards and toeing a pebble with his worn-out trainers.

Betty was already helping Angel onto her bike, keeping it steady for the younger girl while Sweet Pea looked like he’d like nothing more than to rip his little sister off of it and throw the bike as far as he could. Jughead knew Sweet Pea judged him for having Northsider friends – friends with parents who could afford to buy them new bikes and shoes that weren’t second-hand and clothes that weren’t from the thrift store. He’d called out his cousin for being jealous once and had ended up with a black eye. He wanted nothing more than to grab Betty and shield her from Sweet Pea’s angry glare, but even at the age of six, he knew Betty wouldn’t appreciate it.

FP was gone less than twenty minutes, grabbing cheap ice-cream and some ramen noodles in the flavor Gladys liked, barely calling out a ‘thank you’ to Kitty when she slipped a few extra candy bars in his bag for Jughead (and, _God_ , was he careful not to say Alice’s little girl was just a five minute walk from her store) but by the time he reached his trailer, chaos had broken out.

Nora was gone, as was little Angel. Sweet Pea and Archie were rolling around on the ground, dirt caking their clothes and skin. Betty had a very familiar snake coiled around her little arm, Jughead peering curiously over her shoulder. Worse of all, Michael was there, a scowl on his face as he bent over and easily pried Sweet Pea and Archie apart, tugging them back on their feet, a safe distance away from each other.

“Michael!” FP called out warily, eyeing the situation with a growing sense of dread in his belly. “What the hell’s going on here?”

Betty gaped at him. No grown-up had ever cursed in front of her before. She snuck a wide-eyed look at Jughead, but he didn’t bat an eye at the sudden coarse language.

“Came around to see if Nora would be okay to watch over Relish here for a couple of days,” Michael said, nodding at the snake Betty was gently stroking with a finger over its smooth head. “The office is getting some repairs done and I can’t leave him down at the bar. You know how the noise isn’t good for him.”

“Uh-huh,” FP drawled. “And where _is_ Nora?” he asked, pointedly looking around.

“Angel had to pee,” Sweet Pea grumbled, crossing his arms as he glared at Archie.

FP raised an eyebrow at the boy. “And what the hell were you two rolling around about?” he asked sternly.

Sweet Pea was a rebellious boy, but he wasn’t stupid enough to defy that tone of voice. “He was being a baby,” was his childish response, jerking his chin in Archie’s direction.

“Was not!” Archie piped up defensively.

“He cried when he saw Relish!”

“No, I didn’t! You’re making that up!”

“We all saw it!”

“Shut up!”

“No, _you_ shut up!”

“Hey!” Michael clapped his hands loudly, startling the two. “Don’t make me say it twice – no fighting!”

Both boys fell into a sullen silence, glaring at each other with crossed arms and bruised egos.

“He’s really cute,” Betty smiled up at Michael, so reminiscent of Alice that his heart clenched painfully.

Sweet Pea stared at her in horror. “He’s not _cute_ ,” he snapped, disgusted. “He’s fierce! And he’ll eat you if he doesn’t like you!”

Betty giggled, running a gentle finger down the snake’s long body. “He’s not fierce!” she protested. “He just wants cuddles!”

“Cuddles!?” Sweet Pea threw his hands up in frustration.

Betty ignored Sweet Pea’s irritation, turning bright green eyes in Michael’s direction as she asked, “Is his name really Relish?”

Her laughter made him smile, pained and elated all at once. “Sure is,” he crouched down next to her, gently stroking the snake’s head as she had. “Guess who named him?” he playfully whispered, eyes growing wide as he flicked them over in FP’s direction.

Betty’s giggles grew louder, hand pressed to her lips as her eyes grew round in surprise. “FP, you’re silly,” she declared.

FP couldn’t help but smile at her, his eyes sliding over to catch the soft look on his son’s face as he huddled close to Betty and the snake.

The severity of the situation, and the thought of the consequences should Alice ever find out about Betty meeting Michael and Relish, had FP clearing his throat.

“Michael,” he addressed his second-in-command, hating that he had to cut this sweet interaction short. The older man had been a guiding hand for him since he’d been barely old enough to understand what being a Serpent meant. He’d been the father FP always wished for and he’d acted as FP’s righthand man the same way he’d done for Forsythe when he’d been King. But they couldn’t interfere with Alice’s way of raising Betty, even if it was wrong. They had no say in it, no right to call her out. And Alice, if ever she found out that they even attempted it, would point laser-like focus in the direction of all the Serpents, not just Michael, not just FP, and raze them to the ground.

Michael looked up and, by the look on his face, FP knew Michael understood this was over.

“Well, I’ve gotta get going,” he sighed, standing up and dusting off his pants.

Betty’s face fell. She liked Mr. Michael and his pet snake Relish. Sunnyside was a fun place, despite the scowling boy Jughead had reluctantly called his cousin. She wanted to spend more time with both Mr. Michael and Relish but, realistically, she knew that FP being back meant that not only did Mr. Michael had to leave, so did they. Back to her house. At least they could climb up to Archie’s treehouse and play a new game.

She was disappointed but Coopers don’t get emotional in public. That’s an important rule.

“Oh, alright,” she barely kept in her sigh. Stroking Relish’s little head one last time, she extended her arm to give him back to Mr. Michael. “Thanks for letting me play with him. He’s a lot of fun.”

Michael smiled, clenching his fists to physically stop himself from running a hand through her golden hair. She was a beautiful girl. Her eyes might be green but everything else about her was pure Alice.

Just when FP thought that they would get away clean with this little unexpected meeting, Michael decided that he’d had it too easy.

“Y’know what, kid,” he grinned at Betty. “You can keep him.”

Betty stared at Mr. Michael, eyes growing wide in shocked wonder. “Really!?” she asked, voice growing even more high pitched than usual. FP winced at the sheer volume, throwing a glance at the trailer over his shoulder. Thankfully, it didn’t look like Betty’s squeal had woken Gladys up. Lord, that woman could sleep these days. “Are you sure? He’s your pet, Mr. Michael!”

“I’m sure,” Michael reassured her. “It looks like he likes you better than me.”

Gritting his teeth and throwing another cursory glance at his watch, FP wondered what the hell he’d ever done to deserve this.

“Michael,” he jerked his head to the side. “Could we talk?”

Pointing a threatening finger in Sweet Pea and Archie’s direction, Michael strode after FP. Once they were far enough away, FP swiveled around. Keeping one eye on the kids to make sure none of them were indulging in more ‘sleuthing’, he growled out in a low voice, “What the hell are you doing?”

“What? The girl seems to have taken a real liking to Relish,” Michael shrugged nonchalantly, moving to stand beside FP so that he could get another look at Betty. “Who am I to separate them?”

“Michael…” FP shook his head.

Ignoring FP’s tone, Michael let his eyes wander over the excited blonde. She was trying to get Jughead to hold Relish, though the dark-haired boy was having some trouble standing still long enough to let the snake slither onto his arm. “She’s so beautiful,” Michael whispered. “She looks just like Ali did when she was that age.”

Eyes softening, FP clasped Michael on the shoulder. He knew how hard his old mentor had taken it when Alice had cut out everyone from the Southside to be the perfect wife of the perfect Northside boy. It might have been coincidence that had gotten Michael to meet Betty that day but he wasn’t going to let it slip through his fingers despite Alice’s threats about what she would do if her kids ever found out about who she had been before Alice Cooper was borne.

“I’m sorry, Michael,” he said quietly, smiling slightly as Jughead squealed a little as Betty helped Relish settle around his neck.

“I wish Kitty was here to see her,” Michael murmured, heart clenching again as he watched the little girl giggle as Jughead stood stiff as a board, Relish crawling down his arm. “ _God_ , she’d love her.”

FP threw Michael a look. “I’m sorry, Michael, but you can’t call her,” he warned. “ _You_ shouldn’t even have met her today. We can’t make things worse by getting Kitty involved.”

Michael tore his eyes away from Betty to glare at FP. “Boy, don’t go around threatening me. I once changed your diaper with one hand and shot up the Ghoulies with another,” he growled.

FP rolled his eyes. Michael was the biggest exaggerator he’d ever met.

“Michael, you can’t let her take Relish home,” he tried reasoning. “Alice knows Relish. She’ll recognize that snake the moment she lays eyes on it. She’ll _know_.”

“I don’t care,” Michael snapped. “FP, I just met my granddaughter for the first time in her six years of life. She’s beautiful, and smart and she handles Relish so easily I _know_ getting a switchblade out of the damn tank would be a walk in the park for her.”

FP cut his eyes to Michael, sharp with a silent warning.

“But I can’t even hug her,” Michael continued, ignoring FP’s look. “I can’t tell her I’m her granddaddy. I’m gonna go home later and tell my wife that her grandkid was five minutes away from her today and I didn’t do anything about it. So, if I wanna give that little girl a pet snake to look after as some small way of being a part of her life, you better _damn_ well make sure she gets to keep him.”

Twenty minutes later, FP was in his truck, the three kids strapped in next to him. Archie was sitting against the passenger’s side door, the farthest away from Betty and Relish, Jughead in the middle. Beaming down at the snake snoozing peacefully in his tank securely held in her lap, Betty excitedly repeated the instructions Mr. Michael had given to her about caring for a pet snake.

“Now, Betty, remember,” FP said, heart hammering in his chest as he drove through the bridge connecting the Southside and the Northside. “You saw the snake at Jug’s house. You’ve never met a man named Michael. Okay?”

Betty looked up from her new pet to gaze at FP curiously. “Mommy says lying is bad,” Betty told him, tiny voice stern.

“Mommy will also get very angry if she finds out that Mr. Michael saw you today,” FP countered gently.

Betty frowned. “Why?” she asked, Nancy Drew senses tingling. “Are they not friends?”

“No, they’re not,” FP fibbed. “Mommy would be very upset if she thinks Mr. Michael is trying to make you his friend. She would probably yell at him.”

Betty gasped. She liked Mr. Michael very much. Her mom was scary when she was angry and scarier still when she yelled. She didn’t want Mr. Michael to get yelled at.

“Okay,” she agreed, making FP sigh in relief. “I won’t tell.”

Jughead and Archie agreed to lie about Michael, too, which made FP breathe easier. Unfortunately for him, to continue his streak of bad luck that day, Alice was at home when he pulled into the Andrews’ driveway. Betty might have convinced Archie to ride their bikes all the way to Sunnyside, but she had forgotten to come up with a lie to tell her mother. Instead, she had simply told Alice she was going over to Archie’s house to play. Before she was set to leave for the Register, Alice had stopped by next door to give Betty some lunch money in case she and Archie wanted to go to Pop’s later, but had been surprised by Mary saying Archie had gone over to her house instead.

Fred had called up Mary during their panic, informing her that FP was on the way to drop of all three Musketeers with her, and to ask if it was alright with her to take care of them for the day. She had agreed, relieved, but Alice had been livid.

She had waited outside to greet the little rascals and ground Betty the moment she was back.

Seeing her baby girl climb out of FP’s truck, bright green eyes watching keenly to ensure that FP didn’t drop the snake tank, Alice had been even less enthused.

In fact, she’d wanted to call Animal Control and have them take Relish away. Betty, in a fit of anguished horror, had broken down into tears in front of FP for the first time since he’d met her four years ago. Jughead had been horrified, stepping close and bringing her in for a tight hug. _Oh, for the love of…_ Knowing that he had to help the little girl and the snake keep their newfound friendship (and be even later to his job at the site), FP snuck another look at his watch before grabbing Alice by the wrist, pointing his finger at the three kids to make sure they stayed put.

“Where did she even get him?” Alice hissed at him the moment they’d stepped outside onto the Coopers’ patio, yanking her wrist out of his grasp. The glass door was shut but FP could see three little faces pressed up against it, trying their hardest to hear their words or read their lips. God, they were persistent little rascals.

“It’s just a snake, Alice,” FP sighed.

“Don’t bullshit me, FP Jones,” Alice glared. “I know _exactly_ where that snake came from. So, tell me, how did my baby girl get a hold of it!?”

Cursing Michael in his mind, FP lied, ratting out Betty and Archie on their smallest crime of the day, “Betty and Archie went to Sunnyside today.”

Eyes blown wide, Alice let a hand fly up to her throat, gasping. “What?” she whispered, horrified. FP wanted to roll his eyes. She was acting as though Betty had gone to a war zone. Alice had spent her fair share of time during her childhood at Sunnyside. Sure, Sunnyside wasn’t as clean and orderly as Alice’s Northside neighborhood, but Betty hadn’t been in danger of getting shanked or kidnapped either.

“They just missed Jughead,” FP held up his hands in defense. “And, to be fair, we never sat the kids down to tell them not to step foot into Sunnyside. Or the Southside. We just keep making excuses why they couldn’t.”

Alice sniffed, straightening her spine and placing her hands on her hips. “Fine,” she conceded. “I’ll sit Betty down tonight and tell her. I’ll get Fred and Mary to tell Archie, too.”

“Fine,” he ground out. At the stubborn set of Alice’s lips, he was simultaneously irritated and overcome with nostalgic fondness. “Look, about Relish…”

“She’s _not_ keeping it,” Alice snapped immediately. “I don’t care that she bonded with that thing. I don’t care what you promised her. You shouldn’t have done that without talking to me first. She shouldn’t have even set eyes on it.”

He sighed, hanging his head and rubbing at his throbbing temples. “Alice…”

“She’s _my_ kid, FP. What I say goes.”

“Alice, it’s not fair to her. Just because –”

“Just because _what_ , FP?” she glared, getting a little too close for comfort. “Just because I don’t want my daughter to have a gang’s mascot as a pet?” she whispered harshly.

“Technically, Hot Dog’s our mascot,” he whispered back, just as furiously. “Or have you forgotten?”

They breathed heavily, glaring angrily at one another, noses practically pressed together.

The sound of something toppling over and a slight bang had them whipping their heads towards the source of the noise – Archie had tripped over one of Polly’s Barbies and had clearly banged his head against the glass door. Jughead was crouched next to him, worry in his eyes, but Betty’s face was still pressed against the glass, eyes never leaving her mother.

FP sighed, taking a step back and softening his gaze. Michael was right. Betty was too reminiscent of Alice when she was still Ali, and he could never say no to Ali Smith. Or, as it turned out, Betty Cooper.

“She doesn’t know where Relish came from,” he cajoled quietly. “No one will tell her. Keeping him is not an initiation, Alice. Please. She loves him already.”

It took longer than he’d promised Fred, but FP managed to convince Alice to let Betty keep Relish and somehow _not_ destroy the friendship between Betty, Jughead and Archie by forbidding Betty from seeing Jughead anymore.

“She doesn’t step foot into the Southside,” Alice warned him. “Not once. And she doesn’t meet anyone there, either. Sunnyside is off limits.”

In the end, to entice the kids into just hanging out at Archie’s house, FP and Fred did a little redecorating in the Andrews’ basement. The kids helped Fred and Mary clear out the basement, enthusiastically holding a yard sale to get rid of some of the things they’d found while cleaning out the basement together. FP got out an old pool table he had stored at the backroom of the Wyrm after they’d gotten a new one, a poker table and a dart board (that last one was sneakily placed so that Alice would never catch sight of it). Mary scrapped together some second-hand furniture to make it cozier and Fred bought a mini fridge so they could store snacks and drinks there (an addition Jughead was happiest about). Mary worked entirely from home most days now so she volunteered to pick up and drop off Jughead so that the kids could hang out at the Andrews’ house without having to put anyone out.

FP couldn’t be more grateful to Fred and Mary. He also didn’t know what prompted Alice to be so generous in allowing Betty to keep Relish, but that sparkle in that little girl’s green eyes when she was told was worth the wrath he’d had to face.

********************************************************

**August 2008**

**Riverdale, NY**

Caring for a pet was harder than Betty expected.

She had to make sure Relish got his food and was comfortable enough. She had to make sure the light in his tank was the proper temperature to keep Relish warm, and that his tank was clean. Relish bit her once, which her mom had used as an excuse to want to send him away, but he didn’t have his fangs anymore, so it didn’t hurt as much as it surprised Betty,

Polly had screamed when she’d first seen Relish, and she had called Betty crazy for wanting a pet snake, which had resulted in the first real fight the sisters had ever gotten into.

While her dad didn’t care about Relish one way or another, her mom tried getting rid of it any which way she could. Betty never let her, going so far as to hide Relish and his tank in Archie’s parents’ garage whenever she wasn’t going to be home to keep the little snake safe.

However, there were still things Alice could restrict when it came to the snake – money for snake food, for one thing.

“But Mommy! Relish is almost out of food,” Betty complained for what felt like the hundredth time.

Alice gritted her teeth at yet another reminder of the damn snake her daughter had shown up with one day. If she had enough courage in her veins, she would have made her way to her childhood home and confronted her father about it all. But she couldn’t imagine driving past the Wyrm, the rundown park covered in graffiti that she used to hang out in, the neighbors she knew were still there in the same houses they’d been in when she was growing up, without throwing up. So she’d settled for passive aggressively taking her anger and frustration out on FP by making comments that were getting snider by the day. And trying to find ways to get rid of that ridiculous thing Betty called a ‘pet’.

“That is not my problem, Betty,” Alice replied, the same answer for the hundredth time. “Nor is it your father’s. You were the one who made the decision to get the snake without asking either of our permission. So, it’s your responsibility to get it whatever it needs. Including food.”

“Relish is a boy snake,” Betty glared at her mother, who stared back, unfazed. “I don’t have any money, mommy. I need to get him food!”

“Like I said, it’s your responsibility to figure it out,” Alice plated up an egg white omelet for Betty’s breakfast, putting it in front of her younger daughter.

Betty pouted, stomach churning as she stared at her breakfast. It made her sick to think that she would get to eat when Relish would get hungry soon. “Can I borrow some money?” she asked her mother, inspiration striking her.

Alice arched her brow in her direction. “And how exactly will you be paying back this loan?” she asked dubiously.

“I’ll sell lemonade,” Betty decided. “Next weekend. Me and Juggie and Archie.”

Alice rolled her eyes. If she could, she would ban Betty from seeing the two boys ever again. Archie was an impossibility – he lived right next door, and his parents were a great help when it came to taking care of Betty when Alice and Hal had to work late. Polly chose to stay over at her best friend’s house instead, which was fine with them, but Betty was a fussy child who miraculously only listened to three other adults other than her parents – Fred and Mary Andrews, and FP Jones. And there was no hope at all of stopping Betty from seeing Jughead. At least half the stories Betty babbled about included the raven-haired boy.

“Please, mommy?”

Pulled out of her thoughts, Alice resisted the urge to snap, chiding her little girl as gently as she could, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.”

This left Betty with only one option.

“We could probably just ask my dad,” Jughead suggested as he rode the secondhand bike he called his own down Sweetwater Bridge, Betty on her shiny pink bike right beside him.

“No, Relish is my pet,” Betty argued silently. “I should take care of him. Besides…If we ask your dad, then maybe Mr. Michael will know about it. And if he thinks I can’t feed Relish, maybe he’ll take him away. I don’t want that. I’ll miss him too much.”

“What if Mr. Michael sees us sneaking in?” Jughead worried.

“He won’t,” Betty reassured him. “You know where it is, right?”

“Yeah, my dad brought me there a few times,” Jughead bit his lip, taking a sharp swerve to the right, Betty following along. “I always had to stay in the truck outside, though.”

“Well, don’t worry. No one’s going to see us coming in,” Betty said, and Jughead wished he could feel half as confident as she did.

They stopped their bikes two blocks away from their destination, not wanting to be seen riding up to it. Jughead insisted they hid their bikes – his ratty, almost broken-down bike would get stolen if left unattended these parts of town. Hers new shiny pink one would _definitely_ be looted, no doubt about it.

The Whyte Wyrm wasn’t somewhere Jughead liked to visit. It was smokey, even outside, and no matter what time of the day it was, he could always see bikers in front of the bar, chatting to each other near their bikes.

Despite the few bikes parked there looking so similar to each other, Jughead recognized one immediately, the familiar ‘SRPNT KING’ plate at the back making it stand out.

“My dad’s here,” he announced to Betty, worried.

“It’s okay,” Betty reassured him as they crouched low, creeping forward slowly until they reached the big dumpster in the back alley. “Do you think it’s locked?” Betty nodded towards the back door of the bar.

Jughead shrugged, eyes darting around to check that no one was around before slowly making his way towards the door. Turning the handle, he smiled, shooting a triumphant look at Betty. She beamed, hurrying to his side. They snuck in together, warily taking in their new surroundings. They looked to be in some kind of storage room, wide and filled with shelves upon shelves and cartons upon cartons of alcohol.

“Over there,” Jughead whispered, nodding towards the door. They could see the bar right outside of it, a bartender wiping down the countertop while a lone customer sat opposite him, nursing a bottle of beer. Jughead stopped as he recognized the customer. “Betty, that’s my dad!”

“Shh, Jug!” Betty scolded him in a whisper. “Look, he’s not paying attention. Maybe we should look around and see if there’s any snake food here.”

Jughead nodded and went to work, rifling through the contents of the boxes nearest to him. He couldn’t find anything labelled snake food. He found alcohol, salt, a couple of different types of fruits…But no snake food.

Betty sighed as she gave up on her search. “There’s nothing good here,” she complained, frowning.

Jughead thought back to the day at Sunnyside when Mr. Michael had given Betty Relish to care for. “Hey, remember when Mr. Michael said that he had to bring Relish to Aunt Nora cuz the office was under repairs?” Jughead reminded Betty. “Maybe Relish’s home wasn’t here. Maybe it’s upstairs in the office. Maybe his food is there, too.”

Betty beamed at Jughead, darting forward to press a surprise kiss to his cheek. “Juggie!” she gripped him by the ears. “That’s genius!”

Jughead blushed bright red, grinning right back at her, his head a little woozy. He supposed he should’ve eaten a little more than the burger and fries they’d had at Pop’s before riding over here. He _must_ be starving by now.

“Come on, let’s sneak upstairs,” Betty urged, and they headed towards the door of the back room, quietly inching towards the stairs.

There was a group of guys hanging around near the pool table, FP barely awake at the bar as he took in his fourth whiskey, and the bartender was busy stacking shot glasses back up on the shelves. Betty and Jughead kept one eye trained on the other people in the bar and the other on the stairs leading up from the bar to the office upstairs, hoping that none of the steps were creaky.

They made it safely to the second floor, where a door to their left with a sign on it that said ‘Office’ led them straight to their target.

This door, unfortunately, was locked. But Betty had learned from her parents’ habits that people sometimes left a spare key hidden outside in case they ever forgot their keys inside and accidentally locked themselves out. Betty didn’t think this was a great habit to have – it’s like you were asking to be robbed. A quick look around had her finding the key hidden under the welcome mat and she held it up triumphantly, earning herself an impressed look from her partner-in-crime.

The ‘office’ was more like an apartment. Half the room was office desk and chair, complete with a filing cabinet next to it. There was a small kitchen to the side and a dining table fit for two right up against the large panel of windows. There was even a bed, military neat with crisp dark blue sheets.

“Over here!” Betty said excitedly, spotting the fridge. A peek inside revealed the large container of frozen mice. Betty grinned, reaching in to grab the container. Jughead helped her, kicking the door of the fridge close as gently as he could.

Sneaking out was a lot easier than sneaking in – FP was passed out at the bar, snoring into the crook of his elbow, his empty glass tipped on its side. The bartender had joined the group at the pool table, laughing loudly as they joked around. With no one watching, Jughead and Betty slipped back out the back door, Betty grabbing a length of rope left on the floor of the backroom as they left.

They secured the container on Betty’s bike, tying it to the floral basket in front. Betty sighed, smiling as they surveyed their work.

“This is great, Juggie, thanks,” she hugged him tightly for a moment, relieved and elated that they’d managed to pull off their heist.

“You’re welcome, Betts,” Jughead mumbled, happy that she was happy. “But…What if your mom sees this?”

Betty frowned, having not thought of it before. “We’ll keep it in the fridge in Archie’s basement,” she decided. “My mom never goes in there.”

Jughead brightened up. “That’s a great idea, Betty!” he praised.

The two of them climbed on their bikes, riding back towards Sweetwater Bridge, exhilaration at doing something completely wrong making their hearts soar, giggling as they raced each other back to Elm Street.

Unbeknownst to either kid, the bartender they thought they’d successfully outsmart was watching them as they rode away, his phone pressed to his ear.

“They got out okay,” he confirmed, reassuring the person on the other line.

“Anyone else saw them, Hog Eye?”

“FP was too drunk to notice and I got the other guys betting against each other at pool,” Hog Eye chuckled, shaking his head. “I mean, those two aren’t as sneaky as they thought they were but, as luck has it, drunks aren’t that observant.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure, Michael,” he grinned. “They’re on their way back to the Northside now, frozen mice in tow.”

Michael chuckled. “Well, when I _do_ get to teach her, I’ll make sure my granddaughter learns the finer art of stealth,” he vowed.

“I’m sure you will.”

*********************************************************

**I mean…You just _know_ those two sleuthing lawbreakers did a lot of stuff they weren’t allowed growing up. No way in hell did they grow up as best friends and didn’t get into all sorts of trouble together. Only finding out and bonding over their shared love of mysteries and crime in high school? Come on, that’s not believable!**

**We never really hear about Alice’s parents or her Southside past other than it existed and she was a Serpent who had an on-again-off-again thing with FP Jones. I wanted to build on that. Also, we see Sweet Pea for the first time here, and I’ve made him Jughead’s maternal cousin. I like that connection – especially with what I’ve got planned for all of them kiddos when they’re older.**

**Please leave a review to let me know what you think of this chapter. I really did enjoy writing it immensely.**


	7. I'll Be On Your Side Forevermore

**Chapter 7: I'll Be on Your Side Forevermore**

**A/N:** I made a vow to update every week for Serpentine and The Winchester Charm. Apparently, my mind and body decided I'll update every 2 weeks instead…Hope you'll enjoy this one. We have a darker side of Betty that's starting to show a little more prominently. I personally love that Betty has a dark side, so we'll be exploring more of that as she grows older (no virgins webcamming though).

Please leave a review to tell me what you think! Thank you so much for reading.

Title comes from the song 'That's What Friends Are For' by Dionne Warwick & Friends.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Riverdale. If I did, Bughead would have stayed true to character.

* * *

**July 2008**

**Riverdale, NY**

The Three Musketeers of Riverdale were now, at the age of six, old enough to go to Sweetwater Camp.

It had been something Fred and FP had done when they were little, and ever since Fred had brought it up last summer, the three of them had been begging to go. Fred had signed all three of them up for camp the moment FP and Alice had agreed to it (FP agreed immediately once Jughead told him he wanted to go – his boy wasn't a camp sort of child and FP was just thankful that being best friends with the more athletic Betty and Archie had given him the desire at all. Alice was a different story; it had taken weeks of Betty begging her to even consider it).

Sweetwater Camp was located at the edge of Riverdale, on several acres of land, surrounded by forestry and bordered by Sweetwater river. Fred dropped the three kids off together (FP had been a little too hungover and once Betty learned that Fred would be driving both boys to camp, she wanted to tag along, too, freeing up Hal's morning as he'd been roped into dropping off the little girl at the camp by Alice). Once Fred had ensured the kids had their bags and their parent's numbers, talked to the camp counsellors and helped them settle into their cabins, he waved goodbye and promised to be back in three weeks' time to pick them up.

Jughead was a little offended that the camp was divided into boys' cabins and girls' cabins – the only reason he'd wanted to go in the first place was to spend time with both Betty and Archie. On the plus side, at least one of his cabin mates was Archie. On the downside, their other two cabin mates were Reggie Mantle and Chuck Clayton. Archie being as stereotypical as any future All-American jock was something Jughead could barely tolerate; add two more people just like that and he was slowly losing his mind.

Reggie and Chuck played 'pranks' all the time – it was relentless bullying he couldn't get far enough from. Any given time he was in their vicinity was a time they'd pull his pants down or give him wedgies (what exactly was their fascination with his underpants?) or push him into the lake. He dreaded stepping foot into his assigned cabin, for fear of having water poured over his head while he slept (great wake-up call at two in the morning on his first night there).

They got to choose what activities they wanted to participate in.

While Betty and Archie had signed up for a few of the more athletic activities (swimming, rock climbing and baseball. Betty had enthusiastically signed up for a ninja warrior course that had Jughead cringing on the sidelines as he watched her climb, swing, sweat and scramble all the way to first place. It had been far too much physical exertion for him to even endure _watching_ but Betty had loved it so much that one of the camp counsellors had advised her to look into taking a gymnastics class once she got home), Jughead preferred to take up less physically demanding activities. Betty sat through arts and crafts with him (he made her a beaded bracelet in gratitude) and Archie took woodshop with him (Archie made a birdhouse while Jughead made a clock for his dad; they had to have the help of older counsellors since they weren't allowed to use any of the machines or tools, but Jughead certainly helped keep things steady while Jake-the-counsellor helped shape the mass of wood into an actual clock).

Jughead _loved_ spending time with his best friends, even doing something as silly as a scavenger hunt that they'd somehow managed to rope Jughead into doing as well. He enjoyed running around with them, solving riddles and laughing so hard he almost busted his gut when Archie grew progressively stumped over each clue. He _hated_ that the camp required him to take up at least one physical activity during his time there. He ended up taking swimming with Betty, mostly because he knew that, unlike Archie, Betty wouldn't get lost in her love of whatever sport they were participating in and forget about Jughead.

It wasn't Archie's fault he'd forget about Jughead – he was just too much of a jock, his mind going at a simple one-track direction at any given moment. If he loved something, he forgot about everything else, getting immersed in it until something else caught his attention and distracted him. Jughead had long ago learned to look past this fault of Archie's, especially since Betty never seemed to forget Jughead's existence, always making sure he was right there next to her, fingers twining with his and a comforting smile thrown his way to make him as relaxed as he could get with other people around, doing things outside his comfort zone. Even if Archie flaked, Betty would always be there for Jughead. Of this, he was unwaveringly certain. He wasn't sure what he had ever done to deserve such loyalty, but he would hold onto it for as long as the universe and Betty Cooper let him.

Swimming turned out to be a _disaster_.

Chuck held him under, and Reggie grabbed the paper crown he'd so carefully set aside on top of Betty's dry towel by the side of the lake, throwing it in. Jughead felt his heart drop as he watched the yellow crown float away, barely registering Betty swimming up to the three of them. He kicked Chuck, hard, getting him somewhere in the ribs. It hurt enough for Chuck to yell in pain and let him go. Jughead felt a strong sense of satisfaction at that, but it was quickly dashed by utter heartbreak as he tried to scoop his paper crown out of the water only for it to fall apart in his hands.

Chuck and Reggie laughed, swimming away to joke around with other mean boys who loved 'Jughead Jokes', as they called it. Jughead knew that Archie loved being a jock but he sincerely hoped he would be a rare nice one.

"Oh, Juggie," Betty whispered, voice low and sweet. Jughead sniffled, turning his head away so she wouldn't see him cry. "Summer won't be over by the time camp is. We'll go back to the carnival and get you another one."

Jughead nodded, not trusting his voice enough to speak. Realistically, he knew that his dad would probably be too busy to take him to the carnival again. Betty would insist on going anyway, roping one of Archie's parents into bringing them, most likely. It just wouldn't be the same. Even if he got another crown, it wouldn't be one his dad got for him. It wouldn't have the same good luck magic. He couldn't say any of these things. It was silly and childish and he was almost seven years old now, almost in first grade. He shouldn't still believe in good luck magic. His mom always said he had to grow up faster.

Betty, however, seemed to know without him having to say it. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pressing close to his side. "I promise I'll get FP to take us," she said, eyes locked on his, and Jughead believed that she would honor her promise. Despite how grumpy his dad would get, despite how drunk he'd get or how busy his work made him, all Betty would have to do was bat her lashes, smile with her eyes all round and big and say, "Please, FP." It turned his dad into putty in her hands. Jughead understood and sympathized. She had the same effect on him, after all.

Betty got him to abandon the torn shreds of paper he'd once called his crown. They swam together for a while, Betty suggesting a race to distract him from Chuck and Reggie being mean. She ducked under, pulling at his ankle until he flailed about, coming up for air only to find her giggling as she swam away. He chased after her, the two of them splashing at each other until Jughead could feel his face splitting into a wide grin, his cheeks actually starting to hurt from it, his heartbreak a dull throb in the background.

Eventually, they swam a little closer to Midge, Ethel and Archie. Jughead was a little reluctant to play with the other two girls but having Betty and Archie there set him a little at ease. Archie suggested playing a game of chicken and Jughead was relieved when Betty picked him as her partner right off the bat (Ethel, even more self-conscious than Jughead when it came to her weight, chose to be the referee instead, leaving Archie to partner up with Midge). Jughead would be the last to admit it, but joining in on the fun did take his mind off of things. By the end of the day, as he sat in between Betty and Archie in the food hall, his plate piled high with food, Jughead barely remembered his lost crown.

Halfway through dessert, Betty stood up. "I need to pee," she whispered to Jughead. "I can't finish my pie. Can you eat it?"

Grinning, Jughead helped himself to her dessert, too, only noticing that she was gone longer than it takes to pee once his sweet treats were demolished. Frowning, he looked around the food hall to see if she had come back and was talking to someone. As much as he was a loner, Betty was a social butterfly. She got along with everyone, people easily liking her from the moment they meet her. He couldn't blame them. He'd loved her from the moment he'd laid eyes on her, pink dress and pretty smile like nothing he'd ever seen before in his short two years of life. He did get a little jealous sometimes that he had to share Betty with so many people, but he knew she liked spending time with him and Archie the most, so it was mostly okay.

He didn't see her anywhere in the food hall and was just starting to get worried when she slipped in through the door, skipping past the throngs of other kids and taking a seat right next to him with a pleased smile on her face, her eyes twinkling under the fluorescent orange lighting.

"Betts, where've you been?" he whispered to her, brows furrowing as he took in her flushed cheeks and windswept hair.

"I told you. I had to pee," she whispered back, not meeting his eyes as she grabbed for some grapes.

He frowned at her. "You've been gone for, like, fifteen minutes," he countered. When she didn't say anything, he tried again, "Betty…"

"Don't worry about it, Juggie," she said suddenly, turning to look at him with a happy smile. "I promise, everything's fine."

Midge told an apparently too-funny joke that had Archie snorting his milk right out of his nostril. As the kids around them burst into laughter, the scene distracted Betty's weird disappearance from Jughead's mind.

Jughead patted Archie on the back, chuckling behind his hand as his friend's face turned as red as his hair, indulged in way too many smores (Betty could only have one, and he got to have the rest of her share, too) and chatted happily with his best friends as they walked back with the rest of the group towards the cabins. Betty hugged him and Archie before separating to go into her cabin (she had to share with Cheryl Blossom, but she also had Midge and Ethel to balance out the evil) and Jughead held onto her for a little longer, squeezing just a little tighter than usual. He knew that Chuck and Reggie would be in rare form tonight and he wasn't looking forward to seeing either of them without his crown on. He felt so naked and vulnerable without it and, honestly, the only thing that had kept him calm all day was having Betty there to hold his hand.

As he followed Archie into their cabin, dread pooled in his belly, making his insides squirm and the food that he'd eaten so happily barely half an hour before felt like it was crawling up his throat. Chuck and Reggie shouldered past him, knocking him into the doorframe. Pain shot up his arm and shoulder. Archie winced in sympathy, patting him on the back consolingly.

"Do you want me to say something?" he asked in a whisper.

Jughead shook his head, biting his lip to stifle his shout of pain, blinking back the tears. "No," he said, tilting his chin up stubbornly. "I'm fine."

The four boys got ready for bed, Jughead moving silently and Archie doing his best to keep the other two boys from jumping on him. Finally, as Chuck moved to his bed, Jughead felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. He watched with wary eyes as Chuck, the instigator for most of what Chuck and Reggie got up to, got into bed, still chuckling over Reggie's latest joke about Jughead. He didn't relax until Chuck got settled in, pulling his blanket over his body.

Blowing out a sigh of relief, Jughead snuggled deeper into his own blankets, ready to sleep for the night. Chuck and Reggie had pulled pranks on him in the middle of the night before, but it had been a particularly strenuous day. Hopefully they were too tired to wake up in the middle of the night just to be mean to him.

Before Jughead's eyes could fully close, a terrified scream had them snapping wide open.

Shooting up in his bed, Jughead looked over to where the scream had come from. Chuck had scrambled so fast out of his bed that he had hit the floor and was now crawling on hands and knees to get away from his bed. Brows furrowing, Jughead took another look at Chuck's bed, eyes widening at the slithering coil of green and brown hissing on Chuck's blanket.

"Oh, my God!" Archie yelled, catching sight of the same thing Jughead did. He scrambled off the top bunk, rushing down the steps. Jughead lurched out of his bed, fingers reaching for the light switch. Reggie had started screaming, too, and Jughead looked up to where Reggie was seated, terrified, on the top bunk of his and Chuck's side of the room. His eyes were locked on another snake, creeping up the side of the bunk bed, getting closer and closer to him by the second.

Archie, eyes blown wide, knees trembling, rushed towards the door. "I'm gonna go get a counsellor!" he yelled out. "Juggie, get them out of here, okay? Just…Just stay calm!"

Jughead wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to do that, but he tried anyway. Running towards Chuck, Jughead yanked on the other boy's shirt until he came up off the floor, pushing him out the door. Reggie was yelling as they stumbled outside, "Hey! Don't! Don't leave me here! Hey!"

Jughead shook Chuck off as they stood outside on the patch of grass outside their cabin. Chuck, still shaking in fright, fell to his knees without Jughead there to hold him up. Jughead turned to head back inside, stopped only by the strong grip on his wrist.

"Where…Where are you going?" Chuck asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"I have to go back in there!" Jughead insisted, prying Chuck's fingers off his wrist. "Reggie's scared. He's screaming. He won't come down from there on his own."

Chuck, still shaking, watched as Jughead dashed back inside.

Reggie was still rooted to the spot on his bed. The snake crawling up the side of his bed was inching closer. Fortunately, Jughead noticed, the ladder to get down from the top bunk was on the other side of the post it was slithering up.

"Reggie!" Jughead called out, catching the scared boy's attention. "Reggie, you have to climb down!"

Reggie stared at him, eyes round in fear.

"Reggie, just climb down!"

Reggie shook his head. "No, no I can't," he cried, tears pouring down his cheeks.

"Reggie, do it!" Jughead insisted, flicking his eyes back and forth between the other boy and the snake.

No matter how much Jughead insisted it would be fine, Reggie couldn't move, frozen in place. Jughead eyed the snake curled up on the bottom bunk. It looked to have made itself a comfy nest on Chuck's pillow so Jughead tentatively climbed up the ladder, grabbing onto Reggie's hand and leading him slowly back down.

Reggie was still crying, sniffling into his own shoulder, when Archie came running back with a few counsellors. They herded the four boys further away from the cabin, shutting the door and windows as quickly as they could. Jughead heard them whispering hurriedly about animal control and making sure none of the other campers were aware until the snakes were out of the cabin and in custody.

Archie stood next to Jughead, pressed close in fear. Jughead's gaze swept over the entire scene, taking in every detail, every small little thing. As his eyes went from the locked cabin to the counsellor speaking rapidly to animal control on the phone, his gaze landed on the forest right behind them. Through the thick shrubbery and dense forestry, he could see a flicker of gold. His eyes caught a shade of startling green before it streaked away. His sharp gaze followed as the blonde halo disappeared into the shrubbery, headed towards the girls' cabins.

Brows furrowed, Jughead dragged his eyes away from the tress and back to the locked cabin.

_No…No way_.

The four boys were shepherded into a bigger counsellor's cabin, where they were given the counsellors' beds. Chuck and Reggie, too traumatized from the last time they got into beds, outright refused and were instead given sleeping bags and all the extra blankets the counsellors could find. Jughead watched them with heavy eyes, watched as they cowered underneath their blankets (they refused more than one thin layer, yanking them back every few minutes as though to check there weren't more snakes hidden beneath just waiting to strike), his mind racing until exhaustion forced him into a deep, restless sleep.

He woke up to the sound of Reggie having a nightmare, screaming about snakes eating his eyes. By the time Taran, one of their counsellors and a senior at Riverdale High next semester, managed to get Reggie settled again, it was time for all of them to get up for breakfast. Jughead shuffled into the boys' showers, disoriented and feeling like he'd barely slept a wink. He was more tired than he was before he'd finally closed his eyes just a few short hours ago.

Chuck was still in the counsellor's cabin, having refused to go anywhere without at least one of them guarding him. Reggie had been fine going in with Archie. Jughead brushed his teeth, half-asleep, and listened to Archie talking to Reggie about what they were going to do later after breakfast – baseball, from the sound of it. Jughead shuddered. Sports terrified him, to be honest. Much more than the snakes last night had.

He spat out his toothpaste, rinsing out his mouth, and straightened up only to find Reggie standing right behind him. Jumping a little, Jughead turned to scowl at the other boy.

"Make some kind of noise, Reggie!" he complained. "You scared me half to death."

Unlike Chuck, who was still terrified of his own shadow when Jughead left the cabin ten minutes ago, Reggie had turned his fear from the night before into anger. Reaching out, he shoved Jughead back, hard. Jughead grunted, pain blooming up his back as he hit the porcelain sink.

"Don't think I don't know it was Betty," Reggie warned him, voice low. Around them, Archie's slightly off-key voice echoed off the walls as he sang in the shower to some upbeat High School Musical song Jughead's been forced to listen to five hundred times that summer alone.

" _What_ was Betty?" Jughead gritted out against the pain, glaring at the other boy even as his heart started to race. There was _no way_ Reggie had come to the same conclusion as he had.

"The snakes," Reggie spat out, dashing Jughead's hopes. "I saw her leave the mess hall last night. She was gone a long time. She's always been a little psycho. Bet she wanted to protect her little weirdo boyfriend."

"Shut up," Jughead shoved Reggie back. " _Shut up_! Don't talk about her like that!"

"Or what?" Reggie challenged, smirking when Jughead's jaw snapped shut. "Maybe I should tell Taran. Maybe I should tell _everyone_. Then they'll know how crazy Morticia really is. They'll lock her up somewhere she _really_ belongs. Like a nuthouse."

Jughead's hand shot out and wrapped around Reggie's wrist, squeezing hard.

Reggie stared at him, jaw dropped, his eyes growing round in fear and pain. He had been taunting Jughead about being unable to stop him from talking about Betty just moments ago – it wasn't a secret that Jughead wasn't athletically capable. He was lanky and awkward and while he might have been the tallest boy in class since kindergarten, he was just _clumsy_ when it came to sports. He couldn't climb, he swam like a little girl and he was just terrible at any team sports. The last time he'd tried to play baseball, he'd almost brained Archie with a rogue ball. Reggie didn't think he'd ever even seen Jughead run before.

What Reggie _didn't_ know was that while Jughead never bothered to learn how to throw a baseball or shoot a hoop or any of the million things Archie thrived on, Jughead had learned a different set of skills.

His dad had always been insistent that Jughead learned how to defend himself. While Jughead's dad had never once laid a hand on him in violence, he kept saying that it was important for him to learn how to fight. "Someone's always gonna wanna pick a fight with you, boy," his dad would say. "You gotta learn to defend yourself. Maybe even defend others."

Jughead hadn't been fond of his dad's fight lessons, particularly because he'd tried to teach Jughead in front of their trailer where the neighbors could all see them. His cousin Sweet Pea, in particular, was fond of laughing every time Jughead fell down or didn't duck out of the way fast enough. "My friend Fangs' grandma fights better than you," Sweet Pea had taunted him once.

It had kept him down enough that he didn't want to even attempt the fight lessons anymore. Jughead's dad had started teaching him in the Andrews' backyard instead and, to Jughead's surprise, it was Betty who jumped at the chance to join in. Archie, as athletic as he was, preferred team sports over using his fists. Betty took to it like fish to water, eagerly joining in whenever Jughead and his dad started their lessons. Her enthusiasm for it made Jughead just as eager to learn, which he knew his dad was grateful for. They never really told Betty's mom about the fighting lessons, but he knew that she blamed him and his dad when Betty had asked, just weeks later, to start taking karate lessons.

Jughead hadn't seen the point of learning how to fight, beyond making his dad and Betty happy, but now, he was thankful for it.

Gripping Reggie's wrist with all his strength, he twisted the other boy's arm at just the right angle to make him tear up, knees buckling.

"If you get her in trouble, I'll come after you," Jughead warned Reggie.

"Let go of me!" Reggie spat, anger transforming quickly back into fear.

Jughead ignored him, his rage at Reggie for even threatening Betty making his vision cloud. His head felt like it was filled with fog. His ears were ringing, his blood boiling under his skin. He could feel his heartbeat thudding loud and fast, thrumming against his throat. "I'll hurt you back," he promised Reggie. "You even _try_ to hurt Betty and I'll do worse than put snakes in your bed."

Reggie sniffled, pulling weakly to get his arm free. Jughead didn't let up until the other boy relented, crying, "Okay! Okay, I won't tell! I promise!"

Jughead finally let him go, eyes dropping to the finger-shaped bruises he'd left on Reggie's wrist. Reggie, sniffling and trembling, tears streaming down his cheeks, ran out of the bathroom. Jughead stared after him long after he was gone, only snapping out of it when Archie clapped him on the back.

"Dude," he called out, making Jughead cringe. Archie had been going through a 'dude' phase ever since hearing Chuck use it. He'd been starting every other sentence with 'dude' for weeks now. It was starting to irritate Jughead more than he could say. Betty usually balanced the scales a little, keeping a happy medium between Archie and Jughead and their ever-growing differences. Without her around, he felt off-balance, a darker edge to his words and thoughts…And actions, if what he'd just done to Reggie was any indication. Jughead searched for some sign of guilt or regret for threatening Reggie and was just a _little_ surprised that he found none. He wondered what that meant, if it meant anything at all.

"Are you okay?" Archie asked, brows furrowed in concern, in full puppy dog mode.

Jughead shook himself out of it, smiling at his best friend. "I'm fine," he assured the redhead. "I should shower. I wanna meet up with Betty for breakfast before we have to start the day."

Archie grinned, reaching for his toothbrush. "I can't wait to tell her what happened," he said excitedly, squeezing out some toothpaste. "She won't believe it."

Jughead knew, even without ever having to ask Betty, that she wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised about the snakes.

Archie darted straight for their blonde-haired Tracy True-obsessed best friend the moment they entered the dining hall. Jughead followed at a slower pace, ignoring the hunger pangs as the smell of breakfast foods wafted around him. He kept his eye and attention solely on Betty as Archie launched into an exciting tale of snakes, taking note of the way Betty tried to seem surprised and failed (Archie didn't notice, too caught up in his embellished tale, but Jughead noticed. He always noticed).

Jughead kept his silence, barely saying a word about anything else, as Archie chattered on. His best friend didn't really need anyone to talk to him, just someone to listen as he spoke continuously. He and Archie got their own plates of food and sat on either side of Betty, Archie never breaking stride in the amazing story of how four boys overcame an entire nest of monstrous snakes.

Jughead watched with alert eyes as Archie darted away once he took his final bite, called away by Moose Mason to play a game of soccer before camp activities officially started that morning. He took a quick look around, ensuring there was no one around to overhear. Their table was at the far corner of the room, furthest away from the buffet table and furthest away from the door. With most people having finished with their breakfast and starting to congregate to talk with their friends and joke around, Betty and Jughead were completely alone – and free to speak about Jughead's suspicions.

Betty sensed that Jughead could tell that it wasn't just a random thing for snakes to be on Chuck and Reggie's beds. He was too observant. She knew he would put it together. She also knew he would never get her in trouble.

Knowing that he was trying to find a way to say that he knew, to confront her, Betty kept quiet, eyes locked on a deep groove in the wooden table. She lifted her hands up onto the tabletop, her nails scratching at the groove. The longer Jughead kept silent, the more anxious Betty started to feel. Her vision started to blur and, her ears ringing, burning, Betty nails dug deeper into the groove. She barely felt the roughness of the wood, barely felt as it started to chafe at her skin, stinging her nails.

Jughead, eyes flicking back to Betty after a careful survey of their surroundings, gasped a little at the sight of her fingers digging so roughly into the wood. He winced as he watched, sure that she would draw blood at any moment. He reached out, grabbing both her hands in his and gently pulling them away from the table. Betty sat with her shoulders hunched, tension clear in her posture, unable to look his way.

She wasn't nervous before when she had thought of the snakes, when she had snuck out to find them and bring them to the cabin…She hadn't even been nervous when Archie was prattling on as though the four boys had battled basilisks instead of harmless garden snakes. But now…She was nervous, unsure if Jughead would think she was wrong or evil or crazy. She didn't care what anyone else thought but she couldn't lose Jughead.

"Where did you find them?" Jughead asked, breaking the silence between them. "The snakes?"

She shrugged limply. "Near the mangroves," she whispered. "I saw them the other day when we were playing."

"You took them and put them in the cabin," he stated more than asked.

"I made sure to put them in Chuck and Reggie's beds only," she was quick to reassure. "And they're garden snakes. They're harmless."

"Betty…"

"I wouldn't have really hurt them," she blurted out, fingers curling into tight fists, nails pressing just a little too hard into the soft flesh of her palms. "I promise! I just…Wanted to scare them a little."

Jughead caught her hands in his, smoothing her fingers out with his own until their palms were flat against each other, holding on and keeping safe. "You wanted to protect me," he whispered, awed. No one had ever wanted to protect him – not like this. Not even close to this.

Betty nodded, eyes watering. She wanted very badly for him to understand that all she ever wanted was to protect Jughead. She wanted him safe and happy and near her. She didn't want him to think she was a monster.

_What if that is what he thinks now?_ Betty thought, a voice very much like her mother's echoing in her mind to reveal her biggest fear. _Of course he thinks that. Who wouldn't? You're such a crazy girl, Betty. Jughead won't want anything to do with y_ –

"Thank you."

Betty finally dragged her eyes up to meet his, her jaw going a little slack as she took in his unexpected words. There was no judgement in his ocean blue eyes, just warmth and gratitude. Acceptance, even, of the crazy part of her she was starting to get scared of.

"Thanks for looking out for me, Betty," Jughead said, blushing a little.

Betty started to smile, warmth starting to spread from her chest to the tips of her fingers and toes. "Of course, Jug," she replied. "I'll always look out for you."

"I won't tell anyone," he promised her, knowing her fear of being caught out without needing her to say it. "And, I promise, Reggie and Chuck won't either."

Betty's smile flickered. "Reggie and Chuck know it was me?" she asked, horrified.

"Reggie _thinks_ it's you," Jughead admitted reluctantly, wary of the way her back was stiffened, as though she was ready to bolt at any moment. Terrified that she would run, his grip on her hands tightened, trying to anchor her there with him.

"If Reggie knows, then he would have told Chuck," Betty whispered. "I'm going to get in trouble."

"No," Jughead said firmly, startling her. She looked up at him, confused, scared. "I told Reggie he's not ever going to tell anyone. He won't ever get you in trouble over this."

Betty frowned at him. "And he'll listen to you? Just like that?" she asked skeptically.

"He will," Jughead said, confident, Reggie's scared face flashing in his mind. "I promise you, you're not gonna get in trouble."

Betty eyed him suspiciously. There was something in the way he spoke…Suddenly, without a doubt, she knew, "You threatened Reggie?"

Jughead blushed, shrugging slightly. "Just a little," he mumbled.

She started to smile, an indescribable warmth spreading through her and making her feel lightheaded and giddy. No one had ever protected her like this.

Betty used their joined hands to pull them closer, folding their arms between their bodies as they hugged. "Thanks, Juggie," she whispered into his ear. "Thanks for looking out for me, too."

"Always," he vowed.

They cuddled up together, content in their friendship, their bond, their shared darkness, until Archie came crashing into the seat next to Jughead.

"What are you guys _doing_?" Archie asked, mildly curious, mostly impatient. "The baseball game is starting soon! Come on!"

Jughead groaned as Betty pulled away, eager for some baseball. He grumbled as his best friends dragged him out to the baseball field, begging for the counsellors to give him the duty of equipment manager instead of having to play.

Despite the physically exhausting day, Jughead got a pleasant surprise at the end of it.

The cabin was declared officially snake-free. Jughead and Archie happily went back to their own beds, eager for some rest. Jughead flopped down onto his bed, feeling his muscles ache and wondering if he could convince Betty to get them to leave camp early. He could hear Archie noisily rifling through his belongings, messily thrown around the room as though a bomb had gone off just in his bag alone.

Jughead grunted every two minutes of Archie's chattering, barely paying attention to what was actually being said. He didn't think anyone understood how tiring it was to be Betty and Archie's best friend – on a good day, they were both so hyperactive it was hard to keep them alive. He couldn't even _begin_ to describe the bad days. Frankly, he had no energy left to take note of what Archie was saying.

When the door swung open, Jughead didn't lift his head to greet the other two occupants of their cabin. He did, however, jolt upright when Taran, one of the camp counsellors, spoke up, cheerily greeting them, "Hey, boys!"

Jughead stared at Taran, standing in the doorway with duffels in each hand and a calming smile on his face, two little boys behind him. "What's going on?" he asked, wary.

"Well, we're switching up cabin mates," Taran said easily, leading the two boys deeper into the cabin. "Just to make sure everyone gets to know everyone. Chuck and Reggie are staying in another cabin for the rest of camp. Meet your two new cabin mates, boys!"

Jughead reluctantly climbed down from his bunk, trailing behind Archie who happily greeted his friend Moose Mason and met with new, shy Kevin Keller. Jughead greeted them with solemn hellos that had Taran laughing, clapping him on the back and telling him to 'lighten up'.

"Alright, kids, get some sleep," Taran encouraged as he ushered Moose and Kevin to their new bunk beds. "We've got a fun, exciting day ahead of us tomorrow!"

Moose gave them slightly uncertain smiles as he shuffled over to climb up the top bunk. "Hope you guys don't mind," he said, sounding apologetic.

"Naw, you guys are way cooler than Chuck and Reggie," Archie grinned widely, stating it so firmly as though he believed it to be true despite having just met Kevin mere moments ago.

"Thanks, Archie," Kevin said, blushing a little as he pulled at his sweater vest, too self-conscious about his slightly plump body to change into pajamas until everyone else was asleep and the room too dark to see in.

"Are they really changing cabin mates for everyone?" Jughead asked, disbelief coloring his tone.

Moose hesitated as he plumped up his pillow. "I heard Chuck and Reggie were too scared to come back here," he confessed quietly. "They're scared there might still be snakes. But Kevin and I know better. They wouldn't let you guys back in here unless there's no more snakes. Right, Kevin?"

Kevin nodded, smiling bravely despite the gut-churning fear he felt. "Yeah," he agreed. "I'm not scared."

Jughead shot Kevin a small smile in return, climbing back up to his bed, ready to turn in for the night. He didn't know if it was the snakes Betty had put in the beds or his own threat to Reggie that had scared the other boys into switching cabins. He wasn't sure he ever wanted to know. He did know, however, that he'd had a far better time all day that day because Chuck and Reggie hadn't come anywhere near him at all. They'd even chosen to sit farthest away during mealtimes.

Despite how exhausting it was to run around all day after two best friends who were hyperactive at an above average level, Jughead knew that he would enjoy camp a lot more now.

And he was right.

Chuck and Reggie never got over their sudden fear of snakes, brought on by one nightmarish night, and they stayed as far away from Betty and Jughead as they could. Jughead knew that Reggie had told Chuck of his suspicions of Betty's involvement because he would see Chuck glaring in her direction now and again. One meaningful, angry look thrown Reggie's way and Chuck's friend would be leading him away, telling him that 'it's not worth it'.

Jughead didn't care. It was nice to just play with Betty and Archie. It felt good to be with his friends, not having to worry about bullies. Betty's happy smile made him feel like he was floating in the clouds. And Archie being Archie made Jughead feel a little invincible, even if he had to climb walls and dodge balls and go to woodshop classes.

The three of them also practiced together for the talent show, a required activity that every camp-goer had to do. It was going to be held on the last day of camp, when the parents came to pick up their kids. They would be asked to stay and watch the talent show before the kids get ribbons and trophies for their camp achievements. The kids had all been encouraged to think about what they'd like to do for the talent show since the first day of camp. They could choose to go solo (which Jughead dreaded) or as a group of up to five. Betty, Jughead and Archie decided right off the bat to perform together. Betty suggested they perform a song and the three immediately took music class at the camp to come up with something for the talent show.

By the end of their three weeks at Sweetwater Camp, the trio had had enough fun to want to come back the next summer. Betty, Jughead and Archie had flourished under the tutelage of the music teacher at the camp, an overly enthusiastic recent college graduate by the name of Ms. Berry. Betty was found to be the best singer of the three and had taken up center stage, with Jughead sloppily playing drums behind her and Archie strumming awkwardly on a guitar to her side. Archie, having had thrown a fit when he realized he wouldn't be the main attraction, shared the spotlight with Betty as he, too, was given his own microphone to sing into. Jughead was just thrilled to be in the back, beating on the drums and watching as Betty twirled around on stage, her voice as pretty as she looked.

On the day they were meant to leave camp, the trio stood together backstage as one of their camp counsellors, Marnie, took to the stage to greet the parents and give a little introduction to their talent show for parents of first-time campers. Betty caught sight of their parents first and, with an excited gasp and a tug on Jughead's sleeve, she pointed them out to the other two.

"They're really here," Betty beamed. "Look, Juggie, your mom and dad are here too."

Jughead stared into the crowd, easily picking out his parents. They were seated next to Fred and Mary Andrews, Archie's parents a buffer between Jughead's parents and Betty's mom, who seemed to jump down each other's throats any chance they got. While Archie's parents and Betty's parents seemed happy to be there, chatting to each other as they looked around the multi-purpose room the camp counsellors had turned into a makeshift concert hall, Jughead's parents looked stiff and uneasy. Jughead studied the angry scowls on their faces, knowing that FP and Gladys Jones had just had another fight and were doing their best not to let anyone else know. They didn't normally care except when they were around Betty's mom. They liked to pretend they had no issues whenever they were around her.

His stomach turning slowly to lead, Jughead hoped that whatever issue his parents had, they could put it off long enough until the end of their little performance for the last day of camp.

"We're going to be okay, Juggie," Betty said quietly, picking up on his anxiety. Archie was skipping around them, following along to the vocal exercises that Marnie was leading the others on. Betty sidled closer, taking Jughead's hand in hers. He could feel his racing heart slowing down, his anxiety melting. Betty's hand felt warm and nice and suddenly he felt braver than he'd ever been. "Just remember what we practiced."

They weren't the first to go on stage and the Blossom twins had insisted on going last so that they could have a big finish complete with sparklers and the entire group of campers come out to do jazz hands around them as they belted out the last few lines of their duet (they had also insisted on having the biggest cabin on the campgrounds, with their parents getting the camp runners to agree to Cheryl and Jason sharing the cabin as the only co-ed one in camp history. Jughead didn't know what Cheryl and Jason's parents had done to get the camp to agree to that but he was going to ask his parents if they could do the same thing next year so that he, Betty and Archie could share a cabin all to themselves. Moose and Kevin were _way_ better than Chuck and Reggie, but Jughead felt the best when it's just him and his best friends).

When it was time for them to perform, Jughead snuck another look at Betty. She was almost bouncing in place, a large smile spread across her face, her ponytail high. She was clasping the microphone tightly in both hands, green eyes fixed on the heavy curtain in front of them, shielding them from the crowd of parents temporarily.

As though she could sense his eyes on her, Betty turned, meeting his gaze. She smiled, happy and free, and Jughead's last lingering anxieties drifted away.

"And now," they could hear Marnie saying from the other side of the curtain, her voice booming from her own microphone. "It is my absolute pleasure to introduce you to three adorable little rock stars…The Archies!"

The curtains drew open and they were met with a wall of applause. Jughead could even see his dad standing up from his seat, two fingers in his mouth as he whistled for them. Blushing and grinning just as much as Betty and Archie, Jughead looked over at Archie for the countdown, starting the song at the same time.

He missed a few beats and Archie skipped over an entire verse and started over without telling either Jughead or Betty, but they made it to the final line of the song to overwhelming applause. Betty, grinning hard, skipped over to Jughead and got him out from behind the drums, pulling him to stand up front between her and Archie. Jughead took Betty's hand in his and felt Archie twine their fingers together on his other side. Together, they took a bow, Betty and Archie waving enthusiastically to the cheering crowd with their free hands.

The curtains closed, with Marnie asking for another round of applause for The Archies. Jughead caught Betty around the middle as she threw herself at him, thin arms wrapped around his neck.

"We did it, Juggie!" she said happily, pulling back to look at him with sparkling green eyes. "I told you we'd be fine!"

Archie wrapped an arm around both their shoulders, guitar still slung around his neck. "Guys, I'm hungry enough to eat a whole cow," he said dramatically. "Let's go hit the snack table!"

The three of them went through the crowd of other campers yet to perform, clapping them on the back as they passed through, congratulating them.

"Guys, go on ahead to the dining hall, okay?" Taran directed them with a grin. "Go have something at the refreshment table with the other campers who have already performed. We'll bring you back out for the final performance."

Betty giggled when Jughead and Archie play wrestled for the last grape flavored juice box, Jughead won by pinching Archie's side, making the redhead squeal and squirm away with a glare.

"Here," Jughead handed the juice box over to Betty, surprising her. When she looked at him in surprise, he shrugged shyly. "I know grape's your favorite."

She took the box from him, blushing pink. "Thanks, Juggie," she murmured, sneaking two extra cupcakes for him in return, the tiny quirk of his lips upwards her reward.

They were forced to return to the stage for the Blossom twins' performance, which was absolute torture for Jughead. While Betty and Archie did the jazz hands as instructed, Jughead flopped down on the stage floor and pretended to be dead. Marnie came rushing out to check on him, but Betty's amused laughter caught her up to speed on Jughead's little trick. Cheryl got so angry she had a screaming temper tantrum and had to be carried away by her dad.

Once the kids had calmed down slightly and the crowd had stopped tittering away, the counsellors led the campers to bow one last time before leaving the stage in a single file to reunite with their parents.

"You did great, kiddos!" Fred cheered them on as the three Musketeers ran to greet him and Mary. He ruffled Archie's hair, feeling his heart swell three times its usual size as he hugged his son for the first time in three weeks. Archie grinned at him with Mary's smile, looking at him with Fred's dad's eyes, and he just couldn't resist the urge to sweep his little boy up into his arms for a bear hug.

"Daddy!" Archie giggled, legs dangling for a moment before kicking away to be put down. "Dad, we had so much fun! I made you something in woodshop! Juggie and I won a three-legged race! And Betty's our camp's swimming champion!"

Betty greeted her parents more reservedly, remembering to obey the Cooper Etiquette now that Alice and Hal were right in front of her again. Jughead watched her silently from between his parents, hating how small she looked with Alice towering over her with all her rules and Hal barely aware or interested.

"Really enjoyed the music, guys," Mary beamed at the three kids. "It's an awesome band!"

"Personally, I enjoyed that last number more," FP joked, winking at Jughead, who blushed a little at the reminder. It had been a spur of the moment rebellion that had been worth it when he'd heard Betty giggling at his little joke. It made him warm in the heart that his dad had thought it was funny, too.

"Did you see what the band's called?" Archie boasted, making Jughead rolled his eyes.

"Maybe you guys can perform again next year," FP clapped Jughead on the shoulder, making the little boy light up. While Betty and Archie's parents had agreed to the two of them coming back for camp next summer immediately when asked, Jughead's parents hadn't been so agreeable. Jughead knew it was because camp was a little expensive and had resolved himself to sitting at home for three weeks next year while his best friends were off having the time of their lives at camp.

"Really?" he asked, his eyes darting from his dad and mom and back again. "I get to come back next year?"

"Yeah, kid," Gladys replied with a tight smile. "We already put your name in."

Jughead allowed himself a small smile, quiet and reserved, as Betty and Archie threw their arms around his neck, bringing him in for a hug to celebrate. He held onto them as tightly as he could, nose pressed into Betty's shoulder. He could hear Chuck loudly complaining to his dad about the cobras he and Reggie had to battle unexpectedly and felt his smile turn into a full-blown grin.

He wondered if next summer, camp was going to be just as fun as this one.

* * *

**Yeah, so Betty and Jughead are dark. Like, could-be-psychotic dark. Are we surprised? I can't wait to explore more of that with what I've planned for them in the future. I do enjoy their need to defend each other, though. Very Bughead of them.**

**Please leave a review to let me know what you thought of this chapter.**

**Thanks so much in advance.**

**Love,**

**Lorelai.**


	8. I Found a Way to be Everything I've Dreamed Of

**Chapter 8: I Found a Way to be Everything I’ve Dreamed Of**

**A/N:** Another sort-of camp-related chapter, at least in the beginning.

This took me forever because I wanted to post my Riverdale fic in tandem with my Supernatural fic, and that one took me five hundred years to get out. BTW, not watching s5 just yet until they sort out their mess with Bughead, so please – no spoilers. Thanks, guys.

The chapter title comes from the song Somethin’ Special by Colbie Caillat.

**Disclaimer:** I don’t own anything Riverdale-related.

*************************************************************************************

**Aug 2008**

**Riverdale, NY**

“Archie, we can’t fit five footballs in here,” Fred scolded his son, trying his best not to show his irritation. “We don’t need five. Just take one and keep the rest at home.”

“But, dad,” Archie pouted, looking forlornly at the footballs he’d stacked haphazardly in the trunk of his mom’s Jeep. “What if we lose the ball?”

“We’ll just have to be extra careful with it,” Fred countered.

“But…”

“And if we lose the ball, we’ll just have to think of something else to do,” Fred continued, giving his boy a pointed look.

With an exaggerated sigh, Archie grabbed two footballs, one in each hand. Jughead, a tiny little amused smile on his lips despite the concerned look on his face, grabbed the other two. Fred watched with a sigh as the two boys trudged back towards the house, Mary corralling them inside so they could return the footballs where they belonged. They should probably stop buying Archie footballs. He’d lose them, they’d buy him a new one, and he’d find the one he lost the next week. God, it was a vicious cycle.

“Are you sure you want to go?” Alice asked as she strapped Betty into the backseat of the Jeep, already knowing the answer.

Betty gave her mother an exasperated look. “Mom, I need to go,” she stressed. “What if Juggie and Archie have fun without me?”

Alice rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you’ll survive,” she said dryly. “Honey, it’s just…Maybe it will be better if you went next time, when your dad can go, too.”

“For what purpose?” FP asked, sneaking behind Alice. She jumped a little, straightening up to glare at him. “Hal’s a dunce. He wouldn’t know how to set up a tent if the Boy Scouts were there to guide him.”

“What’s a dunce?” Betty asked curiously.

“Nothing – don’t repeat it, honey,” Alice chided absentmindedly. Turning to FP, she said through gritted teeth, “Hal is more than capable.”

“Oh, yeah?” he raised his eyebrows, smirking. “That why he bailed first chance he got when he heard the word ‘camping’?”

“He has to go visit aunt,” Alice defended, crossing her arms. “She’s very sick – very old.”

“Mm-hmm,” FP narrowed his eyes, disbelieving, mocking.

“I don’t have to explain myself or Hal to you, FP,” Alice snapped, turning back to her daughter. “Elizabeth, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

FP’s smirk flickered as he saw the panicked desolation on the little blonde girl’s face. He knew without a doubt that Alice was seconds away from pulling Betty out of the car and cancelling the camping trip for her. And if Betty didn’t go, Jughead wouldn’t either. He’d choose to stay behind and keep Betty company – even if it meant sitting outside her house, waiting until Alice lets him see her.

Working quickly to save the camping trip for all three kids, FP took Alice by the elbow and gently guided her away, receiving several smacks on the arm and a death glare for his effort.

“FP, get off of me!” she sniped.

“Oh, get over yourself,” he rolled his eyes. “Look, Betty will be safe with us.”

“Oh, she will, will she?” Alice glowered at him, arms crossed over her chest. He had to force himself not to let his eyes drift further down than her chin – why did it have to be so warm today? Why did she have to wear that ridiculously tight tank top? “She’ll be safe with the leader of a gang!? This is a mistake. I’m insane for even…”

“Hey,” he said quietly, interrupting her. All inappropriate thoughts he was having for someone else’s wife fled his mind at the idea that he could hurt Betty. “I’d never hurt her. I’d never let anything happen to her. You know that.”

Alice paused, taking a deep breath as she read the sincerity in his eyes.

“You know I love her, Ali. Jug loves her,” FP continued. “You may have turned your back on us, but I’d never turn my back on her – or you. We protect our own.”

Suddenly, the hand he had on her wrist felt like a heavy weight, her skin burning hot underneath. “Okay,” she agreed, her voice soft in a way he hadn’t heard in _years_. “Okay. You take care of my baby, FP Jones.”

“I will, I promise,” he swore.

Jughead and Archie came running back out of the house then, and FP stepped away from Alice, greeting his son and the redheaded boy with an overly excited tone. “You guys ready?” he asked, grinning as he got two yes’s from the bouncing boys in front of him and one from the little girl already strapped in the car.

As they always did whenever they rode together, Jughead and Archie got on either side of Betty in the backseat. Jughead stayed still and silent while FP buckled him in but Archie squirmed around, evading Fred as he tried to get him settled in. He could see Mary standing in the doorway of their house, looking over knowingly – maybe she had been right about _not_ feeding their son powdered donuts for breakfast.

Finally, ten minutes of wrangling later, Fred slipped into the driver’s seat. FP finished packing up everyone’s things and shut the trunk, looking over inquisitively at Fred as he buckled up in the passenger’s seat. Fred scowled, panting a little, feeling like he’d just wrestled a bear and won by a scrape.

“Bye, sweetheart!” Mary waved to her son as she stepped up next to Alice on the driveway. “Bye, Betty! Bye, Juggie! Have fun, you guys!”

“Betty, remember your sunscreen! And your insect repellent!” Alice called out, almost chasing after the Jeep as it pulled out of the Andrews’ driveway. “Remember the buddy system! FP, call every morning and night!”

“Only if we get reception!” FP shouted out the window, grinning at the outraged yell he could hear as Fred sped down the road.

Fred turned up the radio, enduring the loud, Disney-pop music just so he could say to his friend, “She’s gonna kill you when we get back.”

“Eh,” FP shrugged, grinning as he propped his elbow on the open window of the passenger’s side of the Jeep. “It was worth it.”

Fred shook his head, shooting a look at the backseat. The three kids were too busy giggling amongst themselves, playing a three-way thumb war game that was getting all three of them bent over in stitches. He grinned, turning back to face the road, not even protesting as FP reached over to turn the dial on the radio until they reached a rock station.

“Y’know, it’s never too early to learn about good music,” FP said as Led Zeppelin blared through the speakers.

It didn’t take long to reach their campground at Fox Forest. They had to check in with the ranger station, getting their site information and signing in.

Setting up camp was chaos and a half. Archie kept getting distracted and bored, roping Jughead into playing tag through the trees. Fred was pretty sure the raven-haired boy only agreed to it out of fear that Archie would get lost in the trees and never be found again (FP’s son had quite an imagination on him).

Betty, however, kept close to both Fred and FP, eyeing everything they did curiously. Fred ended up teaching her how to set up their tents, step by step. She even did most of the setting up for the kids’ tent by herself after assisting him in setting up his and FP’s shared tent. FP, having been raised to hunt by Michael, grabbed the rifle he’d brought along.

“Okay,” he grinned, exhaling loudly. “Who wants to come shoot down dinner with me?”

Betty jumped up from her spot crouched next to the stove, where she had been helping Fred stir up the stew he was making. “Me!” she volunteered excitedly. _Maybe they get to kill a bear_ , she wondered.

Archie looked a little green at the thought of shooting some poor, unsuspecting creature. Jughead, on the other hand, sprinted to Betty’s side, his desire to get a third helping of stew forgotten.

“Me, too,” he said, uncaring about hunting but wanting to be by Betty’s side nonetheless.

“Great,” FP grinned down at his two volunteers. “Archie, what about you, kid?”

“Uhm…” Archie looked wide-eyed at his dad.

Sensing his son was a little less enthused, Fred suggested, “Why don’t you three go ahead and Archie and I will go on a little hike? We’ll meet back here?”

Once it was decided, the five of them split into two groups. FP taught Betty and Jughead to trek quietly through the woods, teaching them about edible plants and poisonous ones to avoid, feeling just a tad satisfied at the way both of them seemed to be absorbing the knowledge. Even Jughead seemed interested in it, which FP was relieved about. Just as Michael had told him, there was just no telling when you’d ever need to know these things for survival.

Betty and Jughead stayed low, watching in wide-eyed wonder as FP shot a mid-sized deer. Neither of them cringed away as he did what he had to in order to get the deer in his meat hauler backpack, and he smiled at them once he was done, checking in.

“You both okay?” he asked.

Betty nodded. “Where did you learn how to do all that?” she wondered, sounding awed.

His mind flashing back to hunting trips with Michael, FP shrugged, “I had a good teacher.”

“Are you gonna teach us someday?” Jughead asked, head tilted sideways as he regarded his father.

FP smiled, patting him on the back. “Maybe,” he admitted. “We’ll see how it goes. Now, come on. Let’s go back to camp, huh? We’ll cook ‘er up, have something good to eat tonight.”

As they headed back to the campsite, FP suggested, “Maybe tomorrow we can all go fishing.”

Despite their little snag of who-wants-to-hunt-and-who-doesn’t on the first day, they all had a pretty amazing dinner. Even Archie liked the wilder game they’d caught, once it was fully cooked and grilled up. Fred brought out marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate from the cooler, and they roasted s’mores for dessert while the kids taught Fred and FP campfire songs they’d learned during summer camp.

FP hadn’t packed anything alcoholic for the trip – and neither had Fred, always wanting to discourage his friend from taking even a sip of wine if he could. FP knew he’d be a cranky bastard by the time their few days in the forest were up, but even he knew that it wasn’t a wise idea to get drunk while handling guns and going out on kayaks.

They _did_ go fishing the next day, though they still had enough deer meat to last a while, and even Archie participated for that, not as reluctant as he was to watch Bambi being shot down. They went white water rafting, which Betty enjoyed the most, and Fred and FP took the kids to the waterfalls, suntanning by the shore while the three Musketeers shrieked and splashed and giggled together in the water.

It was the most exciting couple of days Betty ever remembered having, and she smiled, watching the sun rise as they headed back to town once it was all over. Jughead and Archie were sleeping next to her, but Betty kept her eyes straight ahead, watching the horizon as FP drove, Fred conked out in the passenger’s seat.

“Are we gonna do this again?” Betty asked quietly, meeting FP’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

FP grinned, despite the itch he had under his skin to just drive straight to the Wyrm had down three glasses of his favorite whiskey. “If everyone wants to, sure,” he agreed easily. “Maybe we can do this once a year, every summer before school starts up.”

Betty smiled widely. “That sounds good,” she told him, just as Jughead’s head drooped down onto her shoulder in his sleep, his snores making her skin rumble a little. Betty giggled at the weird sound and sensation, snuggling back into her seat to get more comfortable, resting her head on top of Jughead’s. She didn’t close her eyes, however, not wanting to miss the sunrise.

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**Sep 2008**

**Riverdale, NY**

Fred and Mary hosted Labor Day at their house, Fred keeping a watchful eye over the three kids as they played with firecrackers. As the sky darkened completely, he set up fireworks to go off, keeping them at a safe distance as they watched the sky explode into different shimmery colors.

The three of them had a sleepover at the Andrews’ house, despite Alice’s reluctance to allow Betty to do so with two boys (“You’re starting to grow up, Betty. We’re going to have to stop all this soon,” Alice had warned as Betty packed for her sleepover). Snuggled into their sleeping bags in the blanket fort Mary had helped them build in the living room, Betty smiled at her two best friends.

“Are you guys excited?” she asked them eagerly. “Tomorrow we’re officially in first grade!”

Archie matched her wide smile. “I can’t wait!” he replied, curled up on his belly, head resting on his folded arms. “I wonder what it’s going to be like.”

“I don’t know,” Betty mused. “Polly won’t tell me. She said we’ll probably have the same classes, though.”

“Probably?” Jughead asked quietly, anxious. He didn’t want to be separated from his best friends.

Archie looked over at his best friend, reaching over to grasp Jughead’s hand with his. “Don’t worry, Juggie,” he reassured him. “The three of us will always be together.”

“Promise?” Jughead asked, eyeing them both worriedly. He didn’t think he could survive on his own without Betty and Archie there. Riverdale was a small enough town that he already knew who his fellow first graders were going to be – the same kids he’d attended kindergarten with – but that only seemed to amp up his anxiety rather than diminish it.

“Promise,” Betty and Archie said simultaneously, bursting into giggles at the echo, Jughead smiling slightly at their laughter, soothed by it.

“Guys,” Jughead said, voice quiet, after a few moments of silence.

“Hmm?” Betty turned her head to look at him, green eyes watching him brightly.

“Will you promise not to tell anyone where I live?” he asked, feeling like a coward even as he said the words.

Betty’s brows furrowed. “I think people know you live in the Southside,” she told him, confused.

Jughead shook his head. “Not the Southside. Sunnyside,” he corrected her. Her mouth formed an ‘O’ shape in understanding, though the confusion remained clear in her eyes.

Jughead hesitated. There had been another kid who had attended kindergarten with them, a girl named Billie. She hadn’t hidden anything about her home life – the fact that she was a Southsider made her a joke and the fact that she lived in a trailer park made her a pariah. Kids could be cruel. Jughead still remembered the awful prank Chuck and his friends had pulled on her months ago. She’d been brought to the principal’s office, crying uncontrollably. Jughead heard that she would be attending elementary school in the Southside, too traumatized to continue her education in the Northside.

Jughead was fine being teased and made fun of, but he didn’t want to risk being put in the spotlight like that, a constant target until he couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t want anything to separate him from Betty and Archie. He’d feel so lost if he had to go to school in the Southside – he barely knew anyone at all, barely even talked to his neighbors or his cousin. He wasn’t so fond of the other kids in the Northside, either, but his best friends made everything worthwhile.

“I just…I just don’t want them to know I live at Sunnyside,” he repeated. “Okay?”

Betty’s gaze softened. “Okay, Juggie,” she reached out to hold his other hand, smiling gently. “I won’t tell.”

“Me, neither,” Archie promised, more confused than their blonde friend, but vowing just the same.

Jughead’s tense shoulders relaxed and he smiled as he closed his eyes, falling into a dreamless sleep.

Alice came to pick Betty up from the Andrews’ house first thing in the morning. While Hal got Polly ready for her first day of second grade, Alice wrangled Betty back to their house next door, getting her to shower and dressed in a crisp white long-sleeved sweater with a plaid pinafore over it. Polly wanted chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Betty wanted to go back to Archie’s house to have breakfast with Jughead and Archie.

“Betty, just eat a pancake,” Alice sighed as Hal plated one for her. “We’ll have to leave soon.”

“Can I go with Jug and Archie?” Betty asked as she poked at her pancake, stomach churning at the thought of eating it. She could still hear her mother telling her earlier that she would need to watch what she ate since her pinafore was getting a little tight around her waist.

“No, sweetheart, your Mom and I will drop off you and Polly together,” Hal told her, putting a glass of orange juice in front of her.

Betty drank half her juice and ate two pieces of strawberry before declaring herself full. Leaving her pancake untouched, she hopped off her chair and headed for her new backpack.

“Come on, let’s go,” she urged her family. “We have to get there early so I can pick my seat with Juggie and Archie.”

Rolling her eyes, Alice shared a commiserating look with her husband as they got ready to leave.

Riverdale Elementary was bustling with people when they got there, school buses pulling into the lot, right alongside parents’ cars, being directed by teachers and parent volunteers wearing neon orange vests. Hal pulled into a spot next to Mary’s Jeep, Betty tugging at his hand to hurry along with the two boys the moment her feet touched concrete. Alice went with Polly to get her settled into her new class while Hal awkwardly followed along the other first graders’ parents, getting the welcome speech and collecting Betty’s schedule.

Betty was relieved to discover that her batch of fellow first graders were small enough that all of them were in the same class, recess and all. Happily linking her arms with Jughead and Archie, Betty almost forgot to wave goodbye to her dad as the teacher led them to their first class of the day.

*************************************************************************************

First grade wasn’t as scary as Jughead had thought it would be.

Chuck and Reggie weren’t great to have around, and Jason Blossom was even worse, his sister pure evil incarnate.

But Betty and Archie were there, the food was pretty good and Jughead was doing well in all of his classes. His teachers were a little worried about him, with his English teacher even stopping FP one afternoon as he came by the school to pick up the three kids.

“Mr. Jones, may I have a word with you?” Mrs. Fennec jogged up to him.

FP, ushering Archie into the truck alongside Betty and Jughead, looked up at her as she neared him. “Is something wrong, Mrs., uh…” his mind blanked on her name, though he recognized her as one of his son’s teachers.

“Mrs. Fennec,” Betty supplied helpfully.

“Right,” FP smiled, a little embarrassed, and stepped back from the truck to shut the door gently, walking further away from it so the kids couldn’t overhear. “Mrs. Fennec. Is everything okay? With Jug?”

“Oh, yes, yes,” Mrs. Fennec smiled at him reassuringly. “I didn’t mean to worry you. He’s a lovely little boy. Bit of a loner, perhaps, but he does just fine with Betty and Archie…He’s doing very well here. And the teachers here have all acclimated to calling him ‘Jughead’ as opposed to ‘Forsythe’.”

FP smirked a little. Jughead had always been stubborn when it came to his name. It had been that way even when he was in daycare years ago – he’d refused to answer to anything but ‘Jughead’. It had driven every teacher he’d ever had crazy.

“That’s great,” he answered sincerely.

Mrs. Fennec smiled slightly. “Yes, well, I just wanted to ask you if you’d given any thought to which extracurricular activity Jughead might like to participate in,” she said. “So far he’s the only one who hasn’t signed on for anything.”

“Um…Huh?” FP replied, eloquent as ever.

“Little Betty’s chosen softball and Archie’s chosen football,” Mrs. Fennec continued. “I know Jughead isn’t entirely athletic, but it’s just a requirement for all students here to pick one sport to play. We believe being active helps with keeping the mind sharp, not to mention a great way to get the kids fit and healthy!”

He blinked at the overly cheerful woman. “Uh…Yeah, sounds great,” he said lamely.

“I know it might be a little difficult to find a sport that Jughead is interested in,” Mrs. Fennec said. “So, if you’d like, I could help you two go through the list of sports available here at Riverdale Elementary.”

FP gave her a strained smile. “Yeah, no, it’s okay. We’ll figure it out,” he waved off her concern.

“Alright, but please take note that the deadline to submit the consent form is the end of this week,” Mrs. Fennec called out to him as he walked back towards the truck.

FP held up a hand to wave goodbye to the teacher. He drove Betty and Archie to Elm Street and, when Jughead wanted to scramble out of the truck after his friends, FP stopped him.

“Hold up, boy,” he grabbed Jughead gently by the back of his flannel. “We’ve gotta talk.”

Jughead settled back in his seat, looking warily at his dad. “We do?” he asked quietly.

“Where’s the consent form?” FP asked.

Jughead’s eyes grew round in shock before he tried lying, “What consent form?”

FP quirked an eyebrow. “Gotta lie better than that, boy,” he warned.

Jughead sighed, reaching into his backpack to pull out a piece of paper, crumpled and with a ketchup stain on one edge. FP’s eyes quickly scanned through the words printed on it.

“Why didn’t you give this to me?” FP asked Jughead, already knowing the answer.

“I can’t play softball,” Jughead said quietly, looking down at his hands. “And everyone on the football team is mean. I just don’t want to play anything without Betty or Archie.”

FP sighed. “Look, I know you love your friends, Jug, but you’ve gotta do some things on your own, too,” he chided gently. “You’ve gotta learn how to play with other kids.”

Jughead made a face at FP’s words. “Why?” he wondered, sounding close to whining even to his own ears. “They don’t like me. And I don’t like them.”

“Jughead,” FP scolded. “You gotta try.”

“Why?” Jughead asked, genuinely wanting to know.

FP sighed. “Because…It’s a good skill to have, learning how to get along with other people,” he settled on a semi-satisfying answer. Jughead frowned, having no response to that. “Look, why don’t you and me, we go through this list…See what sounds okay for you to try?”

Jughead shrugged half-heartedly. He didn’t want to try any of it, but it didn’t sound like he had much of a choice. FP clapped his son on the shoulder, ruffling his raven locks fondly. “I’ve got a couple minutes before I gotta head back to the site,” he said, looking at his watch. “You wanna head inside Archie’s house and we look at this together?”

“Okay,” Jughead agreed on a sigh.

It took longer than a few minutes to decide, and Betty and Archie being ‘helpful’ as they suggested what Jughead could try was only making the boy more anxious. Betty caught on to it first and she quickly led Archie away from FP and Jughead, saying she needed some help to make some lemonade. Jughead watched them walk away longingly, wishing he could play with his friends rather than figure out a sport he had to endure.

Finally, it was narrowed down to two of the non-team sports the school offered – tennis and swimming. Jughead had terrible hand-eye coordination, but he was a fish in the water, so FP ticked the box next to ‘swim team’ and signed on the dotted line.

“I’m gonna make sure your teacher gets this tomorrow,” FP said with a pointed look at Jughead, who tried not to look so sheepish (he _had_ been planning on throwing the consent form away and lying to Mrs. Fennec tomorrow, after all. He wondered if his dad could somehow read his mind and found out his plan). “Be good for Mary, okay, boy? I gotta get back to work now.”

Jughead nodded. “Okay, dad,” he hugged his dad quickly, smiling when he felt FP press a kiss to the top of his head. “Bye! I’ll see you later.”

“See ya, boy,” FP smiled, watching his son scamper off to join his friends, love heavy in his heart.

Mary came out of the kitchen, smiling amiably at him. “I made you and Fred some sandwiches,” she said, holding up a Tupperware and handing it to him.

“Thanks, Mary,” he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek, watching as she blushed, waving him off. “And thanks for watching my boy.”

She gave him a look. “You never have to thank me for that, FP, you know that,” she said. “You and Jug…You’re family.”

Feeling lucky for having such good friends, FP headed back to the construction site, polishing off two sandwiches at a red light. Despite his increasing responsibilities with the Serpents, despite the arguments escalating between him and Gladys lately, he had it good in life. FP was well aware of that, thinking back to his beautiful son.

Knowing that Jughead was less than enthused about the sports requirement at school, FP vowed to make a pitstop at Pop’s with him later to get him a milkshake as a treat on the way home.

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This chapter isn’t as long as the previous one, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Please leave a review even if you didn’t.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Love,

Lorelai.


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